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__label__cc	0.697286	0.302714	Live: Drone pilots competing in Russia Rostec Drone Festival俄罗斯举办大型无人机竞赛 Thirty-two drone pilots from around the world will compete in the 2019 Rostec Drone Festival on August 24-25, the biggest drone festival in Russia. At the special race track located in Moscow’s famous Gorky Park, drones will race from early in the morning until late in the evening. Their pilots will try to have the fastest lap time while piloting drones using virtual reality goggles and the latest remote controllers. Thousands of spectators came on the first day of the festival, a sign of the sport’s growing popularity. CGTN’s Aljosa Milenkovic takes you live to one of the races at this year’s festival. U.S. President Donald Trump is delivering a speech at the World Economic Fo The Chinese government stressed that local authorities in Wuhan were doing Eric Rubin, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, says Ch The number of cases of snakes invading homes in Bangkok has soared by thous CGTN interviewed chief director of the 2020 Spring Festival gala, Yang Dong Poor Family lost their shelter in Nadavayal Wayanad Wetland filling Kizhakkumpattukara Thrissur Latest: Interview with chief director of 2020 Spring Festival gala watsupasia.com/news/interview… Latest: Thai firefighters receive more calls to catch snakes watsupasia.com/news/thai-fire… Latest: China’s handling of Wuhan pneumonia is efficient and reliable watsupasia.com/news/chinas-ha…	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line441
__label__cc	0.533783	0.466217	All Games Lounge Agenda 21: The Death Knell of Liberty TOPIC: Agenda 21: The Death Knell of Liberty Agenda 21: The Death Knell of Liberty 10 years 3 months ago #381272 Oomba Rook;381255 wrote: Evolution and Darwinism are the most intolerant beliefs of all. People like to bad mouth religion for what it is, but I don't think many people stop and think on just how bleak and HARSH evolution really is. Evolution never killed all but two of every creature on the planet with a worldwide flood for the fuck of it. Or fucked Job's shit up for the fuck of it. Or asks people to give their life for it. Or tells us that being gay is immoral. Or tells us that women are subservient to men. It has no intention of bringing its fiery wrath upon us one day for the fuck of it. Need I go on?Besides, being bleak and harsh doesn't mean it's not true. Thats like saying we should let murderers of the hook because its much nicer if we believe they're good people. -Oomba, M.D., Captain U.S. Army Burr;381261 wrote: You might be talking about Social Darwinism.Evolution itself has no policy implications...Religion is far more bleak and harsh... Social Darwinism is dumb. Evolution has no policy decisions, but it's very precise in it's delivery and uncaring. Child dies in birth, well that's it. And religion is only harsh and bleak, because that is what you're looking to get out of it. Plus there's tons of religions out there besides Christianity and the ghost story of Revelations.Oomba;381272 wrote: Evolution never killed all but two of every creature on the planet with a worldwide flood for the fuck of it. How many species and individuals of those species have died due to lack of adaptability, mutations, or outside interference from other species like Man. Impossibly high number, but even 1 is more then in a fictional story. Or fucked Job's shit up for the fuck of it. Serial killers, Warlords, and everday individuals have fucked up other peoples shit just for the fuck of it. Religious ideals need not be a motivation. Or asks people to give their life for it. Communism? Nazism? The Army? Or tells us that being gay is immoral. Well, if evolution teaches us that perpetuation of the species is the imperative for our existence, what does that mean for someone who is unable to do so? Genetically inferior? An altruistic worker bee? Plenty of atheists who hate gay people, hate isn't an invention of religion. Or tells us that women are subservient to men. Males are often dominate in the Animal Kingdom. Human males have often been dominant throughout history. Is it wrong? Yes, but I doubt we have evolved to be more compassionate towards women. It has no intention of bringing its fiery wrath upon us one day for the fuck of it. Besides, being bleak and harsh doesn't mean it's not true. Thats like saying we should let murderers of the hook because its much nicer if we believe they're good people. No evolution is the truth. I just find the idea behind it boring. I find the ideas behind religion interesting. People like to paint religion with a broad brush, often with unfounded sensationalism. People do ugly things all the time, but if religion is in anyway a factor, it gets jumped all over. Maybe the hypocrisy involved pisses people off, that peaceful religion is a motive for wrongdoing, and that's fine. But how many times does the good get brought up. The arts, literature, music,books, architecture, society, morals and ethics. Never gets brought up, because only dumb hicks are religious. How many species and individuals of those species have died due to lack of adaptability, mutations, or outside interference from other species like Man. Impossibly high number, but even 1 is more then in a fictional story.Serial killers, Warlords, and everday individuals have fucked up other peoples shit just for the fuck of it. Religious ideals need not be a motivation.Communism? Nazism? The Army? GOD DID IT. In the fucking Old Testament, you know, the book of Job? Evolution has no personal stake in an individuals life. I'm not talking about religious ideals, I'm talking about the very basis upon which these ideals are built. The biblical God is an angry, petty, unjust murderer who were supposed to revere most high. Thats not fucking bleak to you? Or maybe natures response to overpopulation? It doesn't really matter why homosexuality exists. And yes, some atheists hate gay people. I've never personally met one, as both atheism and altruism tend to correlate with intelligence in most cases. However, religion NECESSITATES negative views on homosexuality. That is the key difference. No, we haven't. The most ancient of recorded cultures were matriarchal. It wasn't until the creation of modern religions that men came to be above women in social order. The bible, Torah, the Qu'ran, as well as many asian religions all assert mans dominance over women. Which was done by people, not the theory of evolution. The flood was caused by God. You're so dense that you cannot see the difference? It doesn't matter if the idea is "boring" to you. How you feel about it doesn't change the fact that you could build mountains out of the irrefutable evidence in evolutions favor. IT IS TRUTH. Nothing "good" has happened thanks to religion that is of any importance to the world. Christianity is single-handedly responsible for the destruction of an untold number of scientific theories, technological advances, pre-dark age art, music, books, and everything else you mentioned. If it weren't for it, we'd have a cure for cancer and cities on Mars by now. LowVoltag3 Oomba;381272 wrote: I disagree with you.Eugenics/Darwinism/The Evolution crowd are the ones who were behind Hitler.These guys have absolutely no soul what so ever. They're as cold as Ice. They don't see humanity in humans, they see statistics. They gather around round tables and plan out how to get rid of the, what they call, "useless eaters". You also pointed out that god discriminates against certain people, which he has the right to do, just like everyone else has the right to discriminate. But, the darwin cult all openly talk about KILLING people. And wiping out populations. So they are bad in a way too. And Evolution in of itself is not bad. Religion and Evolution can coexist. Evolution is just a word. Of course Evolution exists. Because it's just a word that describes a change. Now Darwinism, is an ideology. It's a religion. And people like hitler were fans of it. So are people like John P Holdren. Not the best of people. Some of this shit may not make too much sense, but give me a break I just got bad from vegas and I'm on 2 redbulls.... MaximusPaynicus Stage B - 2 1.) The connection between Darwinism and Hitler's "Final Solution", while there, is a bit thin. The way Fush presents it would make it sound as if Charles Darwin himself would applaud the extermination of an entire sub sect of people simply because they weren't what Hitler considered "perfect". 2.) You're all going around in circles. "Darwinism" and Religion, when taken to their logical extremes, are both terribly dangerous and wretched ideals that would do more harm than good. The only difference between the two is that Group A is twisting, warping and manipulating scientific fact to fit their narrow-minded means while Group B is relying on the "invisible man in the sky" argument. 3.) If you take it at it's word, Islam is a peace-loving religion that preaches tolerance. Some of the nicest people I ever met when I was in Iraq were, quite obviously, Muslim. Sadly some of the most disgusting acts being done around the world today are done by people who wave the Islam banner. I do give Islamofacists credit, though -- when they get pissed, they take action. When Christians get pissed, they tend to just pop in one of those sorry ass Kirk Cameron movies and bitch on message boards about how Muslims are "evil". 4.) Religion, to the individual, is perfectly fine and even beneficial. Religion en masse has held back scientific and artistic progress for thousands of years. To deny this is to deny the collective history of Earth. 5.) When are you guys going to learn that arguing with Fush is kind of pointless, as he lives in an alternate dimension to our own, where the things he preaches about are actually occurring and our speech is warped and mangled as it goes through the microwormhole, into his dimension. ...it's the only rational explanation for Fush I can come up with anymore. 6.) On the flipside, religion has inspired many great things such as Notre Dame and Star Wars. Yes, Star Wars. People will still be watching the original holy trinity a hundred years from now... if they don't get remade in the next six months.7.) Y'all realize that Social Darwinism has dozens of definitions, many of which contradict each other, yes? Nut_Man Most of the 'bad' stuff(views on women, homosexuality etc) people point out that's in the bible was in there in the Old Testament and was necessary for those early tribes to grow and expand. Without they would've died off. Nut_Man;381317 wrote: How would they have died off if they respected women and homosexuals, exactly? Would they have all been gay and/or accepted when women have a "headache" and never have reproduced? I'm positive their is no connection between bigotry and human expansion.BuckFarack187;381310 wrote: Buck, anything can be used for bad. But genocide in the name of Darwinism is UNnatural selection, and goes against the entire theory of evolution. These are hateful people who want to kill and need a banner to fly behind it. Theres nothing in evolution that necessitates those actions. Nothing. Which is what you people seem to be getting hung up on. Because, if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and you don't snub homosexuals and view women as your sex slaves, you're going AGAINST your religion. Which a lot of religious types are educated enough to do more and more every generation, but by the book believers are the ones who do this hate. Because that is what it says to do in their holy books. The Origin of Species is not a holy book, it's a book of science. It does not require, nor does it recommend, any kind of morality or prejudice in its pages. For someone to use evolution for evil, they have to twist and stretch the facts in its pages in a far-fetched and manipulated way. To use religion for evil, you just have to treat these books as instruction manuals. Hehehe, this is what I love about religion. Half the people in the world believe in an invisible man in the sky, and the half that DON'T still use him as an excuse to blame things on.God and religion are our best inventions, they can be used as a scapegoat for everything. How would they have died off if they respected women and homosexuals, exactly? Would they have all been gay and/or accepted when women have a "headache" and never have reproduced? I'm positive their is no connection between bigotry and human expansion. It was necessary to keep disease at a minimum and ensure that people reproduced and played into their correct gender roles so they could continue to expand and grow. They needed a guideline. Rules.Anyone who says that tolerating homosexuals goes against Islam, Judaism or Christianity is someone who knows absolutely nothing about those faiths and just like to pull out specific passages to "prove" their points. Kind of like the gay bashing 'Christians'. Neither of them are correct, and neither will listen to reason. BuckFarack187;381310 wrote: And Evolution in of itself is not bad. Religion and Evolution can coexist. Evolution is just a word. Of course Evolution exists. Because it's just a word that describes a change. Now Darwinism, is an ideology. It's a religion. And people like hitler were fans of it. So are people like John P Holdren. Not the best of people. You are correct. Now Playing: 05. Palmtree Panic B Mix	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line451
__label__wiki	0.737488	0.737488	Ys VIII's mobile port to include new character and boss Does anyone here remember that Ys VIII is coming to mobile devices? No? Well, it's still being developed, but has gotten a slight delay to 2020. To make up for its belated appearance, it looks like developer Falcom will be adding some new content to Adol's adventure in Seiren. The first of these new additions comes in the form of a character and boss fight. At some point during the story, Adol will encounter Rucol. An incredibly young, pampered, crybaby of a bandit, Rucol unleashes her pent up power when she cries. Her costume features the design of a rabbit since it's her favorite animal. As with most foes in Ys, Rucol likely befriends Adol after the battle and will accompany him for the rest of the game. If you happen to be going to the Tokyo Game Show this year, Falcom will have a playable build of Ys VIII Mobile on the show floor. Ys IX will also be there, though no new information was given for that particular title. While I think it's great that Falcom is taking the time to expand this port, I have to wonder if Rucol will end up making her way back to the console versions at some point.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line452
__label__cc	0.574661	0.425339	24 TEN Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 3/9 - 3/15 Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Seigel and Brent Bradshaw Personalized Hardcover Giveaway Meet Magnolia. Her father's dead, her boyfriend's ditched her to commit himself more fully to surfing, and her mother's depressed because she can't get cast on The Real Housewives of Orange County. All Magnolia wants is to reinvent herself. Meet Ford. Half his family is in jail, the other half probably should be, he shoplifted his way into a job at a record store, and his brother pawned his 1953 Telecaster for a quick buck. All Ford wants is to reinvent himself. Ford, meet Magnolia. When the two teens are cast in Spotlight, a reality TV singing competition, both see it as their chance to start anew. With each episode, as they live together in a Hollywood Hills mansion and sing their hearts out, Ford and Magnolia fall in love. But how genuine can that love be when a television audience is watching their every move—and when their pasts are catching up to them so much faster than they can run? Perfect for fans of Pitch Perfect, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Mindy Kaling, and Meg Cabot, Everybody Knows Your Name is a romantic comedy that delivers an unforgettable cast of characters (and way more laughs than any episode of American Idol). Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Everybody Knows Your Name? I'm tempted to say that my favorite thing is that I got to write about introversion. That I got to use my character, Magnolia, to explain why I need to be alone after I've spent time in a group, why social situations tire me out. That was really satisfying in some deep-rooted way. But as much as I hate to admit it, I think my favorite part of the book is one that I didn't write. It's in Brent's part. I don't want to give any spoilers, but there's a passage toward the very end of the book that has Brent's character, Ford, discussing dying towns intertwined with his interpretation of the song "In The New Year" by The Walkmen. And I find those couple of pages exceptionally beautiful. Purchase Everybody Knows Your Name at Amazon Purchase Everybody Knows Your Name at IndieBound View Everybody Knows Your Name on Goodreads The Dickens Mirror by Ilsa J Bick EgmontUSA Critically acclaimed author of The Ashes Trilogy, Ilsa J. Bick takes her new Dark Passages series to an alternative Victorian London where Emma Lindsay continues to wade through blurred realities now that she has lost everything: her way, her reality, her friends. In this London, Emma will find alternative versions of her friends from the White Space and even Arthur Conan Doyle. Emma Lindsay finds herself with nowhere to go, no place to call home. Her friends are dead. Eric, the perfect boy she wrote into being, and his brother, Casey, are lost to the Dark Passages. With no way of knowing where she belongs, she commands the cynosure, a beacon and lens that allows for safe passage between the Many Worlds, to put her where she might find her friends—find Eric—again. What she never anticipated was waking up in the body of Little Lizzie, all grown up—or that, in this alternative London, Elizabeth McDermott is mad. In this London, Tony and Rima are “rats,” teens who gather the dead to be used for fuel. Their friend, Bode, is an attendant at Bedlam, where Elizabeth has been committed after being rescued by Arthur Conan Doyle, a drug-addicted constable. Tormented by the voices of all the many characters based on her, all Elizabeth wants is to get rid of the pieces under her skin once and for all. While professing to treat Elizabeth, her physician, Dr. Kramer, has actually drugged her to allow Emma—who’s blinked to this London before—to emerge as the dominant personality…because Kramer has plans. Elizabeth is the key to finding and accessing the Dickens Mirror. But Elizabeth is dying, and if Emma can’t find a way out, everyone as they exist in this London, as well as the twelve-year-old version of herself and the shadows—what remains of Eric, Casey, and Rima that she pulled with her from the Dark Passages—will die with her. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Dickens Mirror? A very smart pro-writer once told me that I should always try something new with every book. This is good advice. I mean, sure, we all know writers who do the same thing over and over again. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. In a way, that’s as comforting as seeing a McDonald’s or a Starbucks and knowing your burger or coffee will taste the same, say, in Japan as it does in Iowa. (Actually, I’ve a friend who said that the Big Mac he had in Tokyo tasted suspiciously of fish.) But you get what I’m driving at. People like routines; they like sameness. As a therapist, I can tell you that the hardest thing to effect is change. Change makes people anxious. Even if they say they’re miserable, people will fight you, tooth and nail, before they change their behavior. Believe it or not, a lot of people would rather avoid having to change, even if change is in their best interests. So, avoiding change . . . I understand that. There is comfort in sameness even if sameness isn’t good for you. The thing is: sameness is also boring. There’s no challenge to it. If nothing ever changes—if the book you pick up is formulaic, has no surprises, no twists, and nothing out of the ordinary. . . okay, that’s like comfort food. That’s like macaroni and cheese for the brain. It’s fun . . . but it’s not particularly memorable. Well, heck, if I’m going to spend all this time laboring over a book . . . you better remember it. For me, doing what I’ve already done is death. My personal feeling is that, as a writer, you always have to try something you’ve never attempted. To do otherwise is an insult to your audience. Sure, okay, we all like macaroni and cheese. But if I had to make that for the husband ever day of my life . . . I’d probably kill him. In the end, he’d probably kill me just for variety’s sake. So, in terms of THE DICKENS MIRROR, my favorite thing about the book is that I tried something I’d never done before. I know that the concept behind WHITE SPACE has never been done, period. The biggest challenge in DICKENS MIRROR was doing something completely different that you, the reader, hadn’t seen in the first book. That took enormous effort, too, because I had to delve into the world of historical fiction—a genre I’ve never tried and for which I have immense respect—and see if I could pull it off. Purchase The Dickens Mirror at Amazon Purchase The Dickens Mirror at IndieBound View The Dickens Mirror on Goodreads Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy Sourcebooks Fire In this high-flying, adrenaline-fueled debut thriller, America's best hope is the elite teen fighter pilots of the United Star Academy Chase Harcourt, call sign "Nyx," is one of only two pilots chosen to fly the experimental "Streaker" jets at the junior Air Force Academy in the year 2048. She's tough and impulsive with lightning-fast reactions, but few know the pain and loneliness of her past or the dark secret about her father. All anyone cares about is that Chase aces the upcoming Streaker trials, proving the prototype jet can knock the enemy out of the sky. But as the world tilts toward war, Chase cracks open a military secret. There's a third Streaker jet, whose young hotshot pilot, Tristan, can match her on the ground and in the clouds. Chase doesn't play well with others, but to save her country she may just have to put her life in the hands of the competition. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Breaking Sky? My favorite thing about BREAKING SKY is the relationships. The fictional Air Force academy that Chase lives in is much like a boarding school/dorm-like situation. Her roommate is her best friend--and also a boy! Which means that all of the tension, fights, and love are up close and personal. In many ways, Chase's environment is a teenage dream--to be in the company of hundreds of cadets while also being far from the strictures of parents--and yet the cadets are so far from their families that they have to rely on each other and form stronger bonds than friendship. They have to trust each other with their lives, which poses a whole new layer of problems when they start falling in love... Purchase Breaking Sky at Amazon Purchase Breaking Sky at IndieBound View Breaking Sky on Goodreads Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman Seraphina took the literary world by storm with 8 starred reviews and numerous “Best of” lists. At last, her eagerly awaited sequel has arrived—and with it comes an epic battle between humans and dragons. The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways. As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny? Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Shadow Scale? Subject to change, of course, but right now my favourite thing is the villain, Jannoula. It was a challenge to create someone who deeply frightened me, on the one hand, and yet was almost sympathetic on the other. Villains who are evil for the sake of being evil don’t move me, particularly; I’d much rather see someone who’s doing evil but convinced she’s doing good, or who wants all the things I want but for horrifying reasons. Those kinds of villains are a lot of work, it turns out! Purchase Shadow Scale at Amazon Purchase Shadow Scale at IndieBound View Shadow Scale on Goodreads by Jennifer Banash ARC Giveaway (3 Copies) G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers Alys’s whole world was comprised of the history project that was due, her upcoming violin audition, being held tightly in the arms of her boyfriend, Ben, and laughing with her best friend, Delilah. At least it was—until she found herself on the wrong end of a shotgun in the school library. Her suburban high school had become one of those places you hear about on the news—a place where some disaffected youth decided to end it all and take as many of his teachers and classmates with him as he could. Except, in this story, that youth was Alys’s own brother, Luke. He killed fifteen others and himself, but spared her—though she’ll never know why. Alys’s downward spiral begins instantly, and there seems to be no bottom. A heartbreaking and beautifully told story. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Silent Alarm? It seems strange to pick a favorite thing about a book that's largely about the aftermath of a school shooting, but if I had to pick, I'd say that my favorite thing about Silent Alarm is that it takes an unflinching look at the mess that is often left behind in the wake of tragic events. And hopefully, it leaves the reader with a little light creeping in out of the darkness, and some kind of a sense of hope. Purchase Silent Alarm at Amazon Purchase Silent Alarm at IndieBound View Silent Alarm on Goodreads The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow Life threatening cancer brings two teens together in this funny, honest, and heartwrenching novel in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars. Francis is determined to forge his own way in school and life despite his loony, awkward, broken family...and noticeable lack of friends. Then he is diagnosed with leukemia. It wasn’t part of his strategy, but there are moments when he can see the upside. After all, people are nice to you when you’re sick. While in the hospital, Francis meets Amber. She’s outspoken and sarcastic, and Francis falls for her almost immediately. Hard. Together, they take on the other cancer ward patients, overbearing mothers, and treatments with lively wit. But Francis’s recovery is taking a different path from Amber’s. He’s actually getting better. And although he knew who he was before cancer, before Amber, now he has no idea how to live—or how to let go… Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise? As its author, my favourite thing is that I wrote almost exactly the book I had in mind, which virtually never happens. Writing is a long process. So by the time you’ve finished the first draft it is often an obscure, warped version of the story you’d imagined. The whole thing can feel a bit like playing Chinese Whispers with yourself. With The Brilliant Light’ I felt so certain of Francis’s voice that everything just seemed so easy. It was a joy to write and I’m proud of it. Purchase The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise at Amazon Purchase The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise at IndieBound View The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise on Goodreads The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten Hardcover Giveaway (2 Copies) Delacorte Books for Young Readers Deep, understated, and wise, this engaging YA novel, winner of the Governor General’s Award in Canada, is about more than the tough issue of teens dealing with obsessive-compulsive order. It also has romance, and a whodunit element that will keep readers guessing. Perfect for readers who love Eleanor & Park! Adam Spencer Ross is almost fifteen, and he’s got his hands full confronting the problems that come with having divorced parents and new stepsiblings. Add to that his obsessive-compulsive disorder and it’s just about impossible for him to imagine ever falling in love. Adam’s life changes, however, the instant he meets Robyn Plummer: he is hopelessly, desperately drawn to her. But is it possible to have a normal relationship when your life is anything but? Filled with moments of deep emotion and unexpected humor, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B explores the complexities of living with OCD and offers the prospect of hope, happiness, and healing. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B? I loved, loved, loved writing about a boy! Adam is my first male protagonist. Of course, it was helpful that I fell in love with him on the first page. Don’t get me wrong—it was also absolutely nerve-wracking. I so wanted to get my boy stuff right. I drove all the guys around me crazy with a million questions including some pretty personal and detailed ones. I will be forever grateful to the young men and (some older ones) who really set me straight on what a guy notices, how he reacts to um, stimuli, how he moves through the world and how overwhelming a first love is. Girls, I swear, we don’t know the half of it! Purchase The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B at Amazon Purchase The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B at IndieBound View The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B on Goodreads by Tracy Clark Released 3/3/2015 Winner - MaCaila Sharp Tormented after a daring escape, Cora Sandoval must find a way to stop the Arrazi from murdering innocent people and from violating, using, and killing the Scintilla for their powers. She must also accept one bitter betrayal: Finn Doyle—the Irish boy who has both a piece of Cora's heart and soul—is Arrazi... On the verge of extinction and sought by those who would either consume or destroy them, Cora and the remaining Scintilla survivors must solve the mystery of The Light Key. If they fail, the truth will stay buried forever and mankind will pay the ultimate price. No longer will she hide. No longer will her loved ones be hunted. And she will have her vengeance...even if she shatters her heart in the process. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Deviate? I’m excited that DEVIATE introduces the pov of Finn Doyle, the Arrazi that Cora loves but cannot be with. It was fascinating to explore the tortured psyche of being someone who is a really good person but who must kill in order to survive. I think that the juxtaposition of Cora’s chapters revealing her deepening relationship with Giovanni and her quest for answers about how to stop the Arrazi, offset against Finn’s chapters, which may give readers a new way of looking at Finn, is wonderful, heart-wrenching stuff that good romances are made of. I sure hope so! Purchase Deviate at Amazon Purchase Deviate at IndieBound View Deviate on Goodreads Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills Winner - Erin Fender Erin Bailey's life changes forever the day her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's always just been Erin and Mom, so living without her is not an option. Life takes another turn when the cancer is linked to a rare genetic mutation, and Erin must grapple with the decision of whether or not to have her own DNA tested. Her only outlets are flying lessons, where looking to the horizon calms her deepest fears, and her new friend Ashley, a girl she met in an online support group. But when a flash decision has Erin flying away to find her new friend, she embarks on a journey from the depths of despair to new love and a better understanding of the true meaning of beauty. This thought-provoking story brings readers to the emotional brink and back again, as they experience Erin's fear, her frustration, and ultimately . . . her freedom. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Positively Beautiful? My mom and I talk every day. My mom and I fight every day. (“The sky sure is blue today-“ “Really? Are you insane??”) But when all is said and done, my mom is my ultimate sounding board for my books, and I don’t think I could do it without her. Oh, I know there are times when we are in a five-hour marathon session about the oh-so-very-important (to me) motivations of some insignificant character that she has me on mute while she vacuums the house, but it doesn’t matter. Having someone on the other end of the line who cares enough to listen, who is invested enough to stay on the phone with me as I go through my daily panic-attacks (“but, Mom, what in the heck would she WEAR to the FAA hearing?!”) gives me the confidence to make the hard decisions and make the big leaps. My mom was with my grandmother when she died. Years later when I was writing Positively Beautiful, I knew I had to use her story, though it was a scene I dreaded writing. With a vengeance. I mean, like no, no, no, I DO NOT WANT TO WRITE THAT. Because my mom lost her mother, and someday I will lose mine, and I really, really don’t want to think about it. Erin’s relationship with her mother is my favorite aspect of Positively Beautiful. Erin’s mother is nothing like my mother. I am nothing like Erin. But the relationship between a mother and daughter is something precious and sacred and universal, and my mother’s fingerprints are all over this book. As they should be. Purchase Positively Beautiful at Amazon Purchase Positively Beautiful at IndieBound View Positively Beautiful on Goodreads by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs Putnam Juvenile Winners - Clarisa Ramirez & Sophie Cordero The gripping finale to Kathy and Brendan Reichs’ New York Times bestselling VIRALS series The Virals are back—but they’re not the only pack in town anymore. Terminal finds Tory Brennan and the rest of the Morris Island gang tracking a pack of rogue Virals who call themselves the Trinity. The new pack was infected by a strain of supervirus created by Tory’s nemesis and sometimes-crush, Chance Clayborne, who accidentally infected himself, too. These red-eyed Virals have openly challenged Tory’s pack for domination of Charleston, and they’ll stop at nothing to bring their rivals down—even if that means giving them up to a shadowy government agency intent on learning the secret to the Virals’ powers. Surviving it all is going to test the limits of the gang’s abilities. In the riveting conclusion to the Virals series, Tory and the others are nearing an impossible choice—and the ultimate showdown. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Terminal? My favorite thing about TERMINAL is that I finally get to answer the burning questions readers have been focused on since the Virals series began. This will be the last full book in this chapter of the Virals' lives, so I made sure we didn't leave anything out that would drive our loyal fans crazy. In TERMINAL, Tory finally makes some hard decisions where her heart is concerned. The gang has to come to grips with what they want from the rest of their lives. Plus, they're in more trouble--and danger--than they’ve ever been before. I think our fans are going to like it! Purchase Terminal at Amazon Purchase Terminal at IndieBound View Terminal on Goodreads The Dark Water by Seth Fishman Winner - Vanessa Deneen To escape Blake Sutton’s army at the end of the enthralling The Well’s End, Mia and her friends jump into the newly gurgling fountain of youth and swim to its very bottom. When they resurface, an astounding world awaits them—an entire underground civilization of humans, the Keepers of the Well. But instead of finding a safe haven, Mia and her gang are quickly embroiled in a dangerous, high-stakes battle royale. If Mia wants to save everyone she loves and make it back home alive, she’s got to get to the water’s Source before Sutton and his troops, who are still hot on her trail. With new characters and new threats, Seth Fishman has upped the ante fantastically and delivers another tense, fast-paced adventure in a richly imagined world just below our feet. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Dark Water? The true answer to this question is a major spoiler so, sadly, I'll have to give you my runner-up. What I'm most happy with is the difference between this book and The Well's End. I set out, on purpose, to write two very different books with the same overarching theme and characters, and while I'm sure some people won't be too pleased about that, I wanted to do something really different, and it took so much work to do; I'm very pleased in how it turns out. I hope readers have fun too. Purchase The Dark Water at Amazon Purchase The Dark Water at IndieBound View The Dark Water on Goodreads The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner HMH Books for Young Readers Winner - Lysette Lam Aaron Rowe walks in his sleep and haunted by dreams he can’t explain and memories he can’t recover. Death doesn’t scare him—his new job with a funeral director may even be his salvation. But if he doesn’t discover the truth about his hidden past soon, he may fall asleep one night and never wake up. In this dark and witty psychological drama about survival, Aaron finds that making peace with the dead may be easier than coming to terms with the living. "I have never read a book more gripping, nor a book more triumphantly alive. I love how it haunts me still. I swear, I will never forget The Dead I Know." -- John Marsden, author of Tomorrow When the War Began. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Dead I Know? It's a deeply layered story. There were times when the layers came together in ways I hadn't anticipated while I was planning it out and that is pleasing in hindsight, but my favourite thing about the book is the volume of raw material that made it into the manuscript that I gleaned from my daily life. My godparents are funeral directors and spending time with them gave me intimacy with the setting and provided the inspiration for John Barton, the owner of the establishment where the protagonist (Aaron) works. Aaron's nightmares and sleep-walking look a lot like those my younger daughter battled with as she approached her teens. My wife's mother lived with us while she was in decline with dementia and gave me way too much information about how insidious that disease is. All these things represent experiences that power narrative. Purchase The Dead I Know at Amazon Purchase The Dead I Know at IndieBound View The Dead I Know on Goodreads by Jo Knowles Does anyone ever see us for who we really are? Jo Knowles’s revelatory novel of interlocking stories peers behind the scrim as it follows nine teens and one teacher through a seemingly ordinary day. Thanks to a bully in gym class, unpopular Nate suffers a broken finger—the middle one, splinted to flip off the world. It won’t be the last time a middle finger is raised on this day. Dreamer Claire envisions herself sitting in an artsy café, filling a journal, but fate has other plans. One cheerleader dates a closeted basketball star; another questions just how, as a "big girl," she fits in. A group of boys scam drivers for beer money without remorse—or so it seems. Over the course of a single day, these voices and others speak loud and clear about the complex dance that is life in a small town. They resonate in a gritty and unflinching portrayal of a day like any other, with ordinary traumas, heartbreak, and revenge. But on any given day, the line where presentation and perception meet is a tenuous one, so hard to discern. Unless, of course, one looks a little closer—and reads between the lines. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Read Between the Lines? That everyone has a story. That no one is who they seem on the surface. That we all have hearts and souls and we all need love. I hope they pause before making assumptions about a person based on how they're dressed, or what sport they play, or whatever. I want people to see that stereotypes aren't real. That we're all just people, complicated and messy and sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful. We all hurt, sometimes openly and sometimes secretly. We all need kindness and we all need love. And we need to give these things as much as we need to get them. Purchase Read Between the Lines at Amazon Purchase Read Between the Lines at IndieBound View Read Between the Lines on Goodreads Rivals in the City by Y.S. Lee In a tale steeped in action, romance, and the gaslit intrigue of Victorian London, Mary Quinn’s detective skills are pitted against a cunning and desperate opponent. Mary Quinn has a lot on her mind. James Easton, her longtime love interest, wants to marry her; but despite her feelings, independent-minded Mary hesitates. Meanwhile, the Agency has asked Mary to take on a dangerous case: convicted fraudster Henry Thorold is dying in prison, and Mary must watch for the return of his estranged wife, an accomplished criminal herself who has a potentially deadly grudge against James. Finally, a Chinese prizefighter has arrived in town, and Mary can’t shake a feeling that he is somehow familiar. With the stakes higher than ever, can Mary balance family secrets, conflicting loyalties, and professional expertise to bring a criminal to justice and find her own happiness? Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Rivals in the City? This is a tough question for me, and not in the ooh-do-I-have-to-choose-just-one? kind of way. I seldom feel like a proud mother to my books; I’m more like their weird aunt. I think it’s terrific – and even miraculous - that the novels exist; that Candlewick Press, of all houses, is happy to publish them. But at the same time, I’m intensely aware of the hollows and shadows in each novel. Often, pub week is a time for me to ponder the eternal gap between the novel I wanted to write and the one I ended up writing. This is not false modesty or a clumsy effort to seek flattery. I think RIVALS IN THE CITY is strong novel. My heroine, Mary Quinn, is complex and thoughtful, the plot keeps twisting, and the Victorian London I built is rich and textured. In fact, I think RIVALS is my best work yet. But I’m always haunted by a sense of future possibility: that while I did my best work at the time, I am still growing as a writer. That I learned a great deal from writing it. That next time, I will make different mistakes and, through those mistakes, become a better writer. So my favourite thing about RIVALS is not inside the novel itself; my favourite thing is that the novel exists, that I had the challenge and pleasure of writing it, and that it’s part of a body of work that’s still growing. Huh. Maybe I am a proud mother, after all. Purchase Rivals in the City at Amazon Purchase Rivals in the City at IndieBound View Rivals in the City on Goodreads The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows Wilhelmina has a hundred identities. She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne. She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone. She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world. Author Question: What is your favorite thing about The Orphan Queen? The characters' identities. It'd be a spoiler to say too much, but I love the tangle of identities in this book. He knows her from this thing going on, and she knows him from this other thing that happened. I love the idea that these characters know just pieces of one another, and part of the journey is finding -- and accepting -- the truth. Purchase The Orphan Queen at Amazon Purchase The Orphan Queen at IndieBound View The Orphan Queen on Goodreads Burning Kingdoms Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy. After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home. The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park. It is also a land at war. Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another king who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them? Purchase Burning Kingdoms at Amazon Purchase Burning Kingdoms at IndieBound View Burning Kingdoms on Goodreads In a Split Second Two lives. One explosive moment. And a secret that could end it all... A riveting, romantic thriller from the author of Girl, Missing. Charlie’s life is torn apart by a terrorist bomb in a London market. Months later, she meets Nat, whose family was devastated by the same explosion. But as Charlie gets closer to Nat she uncovers secrets and a whole cast of shady characters that lead her to believe Nat knows more about the attack than he is letting on. In a Split Second is a breathtaking thriller that shifts between the perspectives of its two main characters as their courage and their loyalties are tested to the limit. Purchase In a Split Second at Amazon Purchase In a Split Second at IndieBound View In a Split Second on Goodreads by Peggy Kern What do you do if you're in trouble? When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options. Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels. But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition. This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive. Purchase Little Peach at Amazon Purchase Little Peach at IndieBound View Little Peach on Goodreads by Anna Jarzab Tether, the sequel to Tandem, continues the captivating tale of rebellion and romance that spans parallel worlds. Everything repeats. Sasha expected things to go back to normal once she got back on Earth. But now that she knows parallel worlds are real, and that an alternate version of herself exists in a world called Aurora, her old life no longer seems to make sense . . . and her heart breaks daily for Thomas, the boy she left behind. Troubled by mysterious, often terrifying visions and the echoes of a self she was just beginning to discover, Sasha makes the difficult decision to journey once more through the tandem. Thomas is waiting for her on the other side, and so is strange, otherworldly Selene, Sasha’s analog from a third universe. Sasha, Selene, and their other analog, Juliana, have a joint destiny, and a new remarkable power, one that could mean salvation for Selene’s dying planet. With Thomas’s help, Sasha and Selene search for the missing Juliana. But even if they can locate her, is Sasha willing to turn her back on love to pursue a fate she’s not sure she believes in? Purchase Tether at Amazon Purchase Tether at IndieBound View Tether on Goodreads The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith Dutton Juvenile "Smith is a spiritual heir to Kurt Vonnegut” — Booklist , starred review Skillfully blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, award-winning Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith chronicles the story of Ariel, a refugee who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century . . . and a depressed, bionic reincarnated crow. Purchase The Alex Crow at Amazon Purchase The Alex Crow at IndieBound View The Alex Crow on Goodreads Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident. Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late. In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other. Purchase Vanishing Girls at Amazon Purchase Vanishing Girls at IndieBound View Vanishing Girls on Goodreads Great post: TEN Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 3/9 - 3/15Tweet this! Posted by Jan Lewis at 2:02 PM Christina R. March 9, 2015 at 2:34 PM Everybody Knows Your Name sounds awesome! thank you so very much :) NSchu March 9, 2015 at 3:29 PM So many great titles. Thanks for the giveaway! skyblue527 March 9, 2015 at 3:38 PM Wow, so many great books coming out this month!! TheNelsonWay March 9, 2015 at 3:41 PM Love the chance for this giveaway. Ally Hayes March 9, 2015 at 5:09 PM What a week of books! This is such a great collection of books for this week! Wow so many great books I had to add to my tbr pile Traci Kenworth March 9, 2015 at 7:20 PM Amazing selection!! Catherine March 9, 2015 at 7:41 PM EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME is one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Cannot wait for it. Carl Scott March 9, 2015 at 7:48 PM Seriously, TEN giveaways! Most of them are on my TBR already. Thanks for the chance to win. Rosi March 9, 2015 at 8:48 PM Wow. This is amazing. So many good books on this list. Thanks for the chance to win. Awesome selection! Thank you so much for the chance! Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight March 9, 2015 at 9:22 PM Ah, such a great book week! So many that I am looking forward to! Thanks for the chance to win :) Jemi Fraser March 9, 2015 at 10:02 PM So many awesome books! Susan T. March 9, 2015 at 10:08 PM The Orphan Queen and The Alex Crow are the ones I am really looking forward to. I'll have to check out the rest of these! Tracey Neithercott March 10, 2015 at 12:55 AM So many great books this week! I can't wait for The Orphan Queen. As always, thanks for hosting the giveaway! bn100 March 10, 2015 at 2:33 AM interesting blurbs john March 10, 2015 at 2:50 AM Wow. This is amazing. So many good books on this list. Natalie Aguirre March 10, 2015 at 6:42 AM So many great books. Really want to read The Orphan Queen. Danielle H. March 10, 2015 at 11:52 AM So many exciting reads I've been watching are finally here! Thanks for the giveaway! Alisha Sienkiel March 12, 2015 at 2:24 PM I really am looking forward to The Orphan Queen! Thanks for the giveaway! I would love to win Vanishing Girl. lostbraincell March 14, 2015 at 4:35 PM AH!!! So many great books came out this week! I've already devoured The Orphan Queen because I had an ARC and it was AMAZING! Preview: The Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt and a C... Win WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS by Kieran Scott Plus N... Tommy Wallach, author of WE ALL LOOKED UP, on bein... Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan, authors of GUARDIAN... Ann Angel, editor of THINGS I'LL NEVER SAY: STORIE... Paula Stokes, author of LIARS, INC., on channeling... Todd Hasak-Lowy, author of ME BEING ME IS EXACTLY ... Lydia Kang, author of CATALYST, on having the stre... Free First Five Pages Workshop Opens on April 4! Author Andrea Hannah Answers Questions on Ask a Pu... Agent Lydia Moëd of The Rights Factory On Getting ... The Found-Art Mosaic of Storytelling, a WOW-Wednes... Leave Room for Magic in Plotting by Writing a Shor... FIVE Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 3/23 - 3/29... N. K. Traver, author of DUPLICITY, on fun side pro... Lisa Freeman, author of HONEY GIRL, on Tragedy, Ha... Elisa Ludwig, author of PRETTY WANTED, on always l... Jenn Marie Thorne, author of THE WRONG SIDE OF RIG... Moriah McStay, author of EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOU... “Bad” Writing Habits: A Craft of Writing Post by L... Agent Sarah Nagel of Writers House Answers Three Q... On Never Writing the Same Way Twice -- A WOW-Wedne... Seven Keys to Building Relatable Characters Plus a... Win PRETTY WANTED by Elisa Ludwig Plus New YA Rele... Ilsa J. Bick, author of THE DICKENS MIRROR, on wri... Jo Knowles, author of READ BETWEEN THE LINES, on m... Matthew Crow, author of THE BRILLIANT LIGHT OF AMB... Jennifer Banash, author of SILENT ALARM, on portra... Rachel Hartman, author of SHADOW SCALE, on being g... Cori McCarthy, author of BREAKING SKY, on the impo... Andrea Seigel, author of EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME... Jodi Meadows, author of THE ORPHAN QUEEN, on movin... Teresa Toten, author of THE UNLIKELY HERO OF ROOM ... The Winners of the Pitch Plus One Contest!! The Word on Dialogue (Read If You Like Ice Cream) ... Agent Lydia Blyfield of the Carol Mann Agency on W... Dear Teen Writer: A WOW-Wednesday Post by Nikki Lo... The Secret to Unlocking the Heart of Your Writing ... TEN Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 3/9 - 3/15 Leah Cypess, author of DEATH MARKED, on her long r... Sarah Tomp, author of MY BEST EVERYTHING, on makin... Jeanne Ryan, author of CHARISMA, on using anxiety ... Free First Five Pages Workshop is Now Closed Free First Five Pages Workshop is Now Open! Free First Five Pages Workshop Opens Today at Noon... Tracy Clark, author of DEVIATE, on writing with fr... Wendy Mills, author of POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL, on wr... Claudia Gray, author of SORCERESS, on learning to ... Scot Gardner, author of THE DEAD I KNOW, on being ... Becky Wallace, author of THE STORYSPINNER, on lock... Brendan Reichs, author of TERMINAL, on writing bei... Seth Fishman, author of THE DARK WATER, on writing... Free First Five Pages Workshop Opens Tomorrow! Weaving Foreign Words Seamlessly into English Lang... Editor Stacy Whitman of Tu Books Discusses Diversi... Top Ten Entries in Pitch Plus One & the Agents Jud... Interview with Georgia McBride, A WOW-Wednesday Po... Seven Key Elements of Pacing Your Novel--Plus a My... SIX Giveaways plus New YALit Releases 3/2 - 3/8 Free First Five Pages Workshop Opens on March 7! Jessica Brody, author of UNCHANGED, on how writing... John C. Ford, author of THE CIPHER, on being inspi... Alethea Kontis, author of DEAREST, on being inspir... Maya Rock, author of SCRIPTED, on the agony and ec...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line455
__label__cc	0.733609	0.266391	Community & Arts, News, Politics, Williamson County Sanctuary Cities: Not in Williamson Candidate for County Judge Bill Gravell announced this week that while he does plan to ensure Williamson County does not become a sanctuary county, he is unequivocally opposed to separating children from their families. "Caging children is an absolute wrong," Judge Gravell says, "But we “Texas True” Hewlett Donates to Rotary On August 17, the Rotary Club of Georgetown was the recipient of a check (photo below) for $50,000 from the Don Hewlett Chevrolet Buick dealership. They are a proud sponsor of many school programs, community events and non-profit organizations around Central Texas. This donation continues Community & Arts, Georgetown, Leisure, Lifestyle, News Lone Star Model A Ford Club Anniversary The Lone Star Model A Ford Club is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a gala event at the Berry Creek Country Club September 23 at 5pm. Open to the public, tickets are $20-$50 for members and guests and include social hour, dinner and a special Georgetown, News, Schools, Williamson County “Class” Isn’t Just a Room on Campus Southwestern Football about winning on and off the Field The Southwestern University Pirates have already won (quite handily) their first two games of the season and The Advocate is proud of the team and the school. But we don't really have a sports page, we looked Jarrell, News, Schools Regional Excellence in JISD Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year Marie Grigsby, Assistant Principal of Jarrell High School has been selected to represent the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals as a Region #13 Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year. TASSP recognizes outstanding principals and assistant principals from the 20-region Community & Arts, Jarrell, News iTumble Accepting Donations for Foster Care By the time you read this, Garden of Hope of Central Texas may already have opened its doors to provide a safe and cozy new home for as many as 20 foster children. This 100-year old church in Salado has undergone a major renovation Op-ed: Senator Ted Cruz Talks Accomplishments U.S. Senator Ted Cruz made a retail stop in Georgetown to visit with local residents and generate support for the Republican ticket in the general election November 6. More than 400 friendly attendees filled a restaurant on Austin Avenue to hear the Senator's recap on Congressional Letters to the Editor: Support for Brandy Hallford for County Court #1 Judge Brandy Hallford is our choice for Judge, County Court at Law #1. Her experience is indisputable but it’s her heart for children’s issues that is remarkable. Judge Hallford's leadership, strength, plus a whopping 21 years of criminal, juvenile, family, civil and probate law get Editorial, Letter to the Editor Letters to the Editor: Support for Evelyn McLean for JP3 Evelyn McLean is my choice for Justice of the Peace, Pct 3. She has a lifetime of experience, the kind of experience that has those words right in the name—a Peace Officer working every day to ensure Justice. Every day in the police department she Advo-Catie, Regular Features Advo-catie: You Have to Vote, America No, I don't mean for the finale of America's Got Talent. I'm talking about the mid-term elections November 6. I'm so anxious about people who don't study on local races that I'm going to re-purpose my own column, something I used to brag I would	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line456
__label__cc	0.660874	0.339126	\| FORUM \| ARCHIVE \| \| TOTAL QUIZ RESULT \| Forum Home > SCHOLARLY PURSUITS > Intellectual discussions > Theories of Society & Economics Welcome stranger, click here to read about some of the great benefits of registering for a free account with us and joining us in our global online community. Why the US declines? Solutions? Post Reply Page <123 Omar al Hashim WorldHistoria Master Location: Bush Capital Quote Omar al Hashim Pike wrote: Is there a "solution" to the relative decline of the US? Probably not. I believe there is, but only if the large majority of Americans lose some silly ideas. Since political interests have come to understand the power of media (since the 1960s), money has come to dominate politics as never before that time. Media exposure is very expensive. The "political aristocracy" is not the same as in 1800 when the "rich; the well-born and the able" were considered the rightful arbiters of politics and power. Now it is just who has the money. This is a failure of your democratic system and your media. Consitutional reform is needed to alter the system to minimise that affect. I'd recommend a state broadcaster and a preferential voting system. Socialism seems to have discredited itself through unsustainable entitlements; communism seems to have discredited itself through the inability to do anything except to spread poverty around equally. Totally incorrect. This is nothing but the fantasies of Americans. The single organisation that has been most sucessful in eliminating poverty is the China Communist Party. You may argue that's not "true" communism, but it's as communist as the US is democratic for sure. Every wealthy country in Asia-Pacific is either socialist or communist. Not to mention that Democracy is socialism. The observed effects of "globalization" seem to be the leveling out of labor costs, the diminishment of working class influence, and the concentration of wealth in fewer hands. Apart from Labor coasts, and except in the US, I'd say the opposite is true. Globally, working classes are more powerful and wealth is better distributed. Guest Group Quote Guests gcle2003 wrote: Panther wrote: That's what I mean by confusing government expenditure with transfer payments. If the government takes a dollar from X and gives it to Y than the government hasn't spent that money: it's still around. Of course at a deeper level it needs to be understood that money spent hasn't gone away or disappeared ionto some oblivion. Money spent has merely been ransferred from one person's (or companie's) pocket to another one, ready to finance another transaction somewhere else. Of course it can be saved, which deprives it of any use, but it still sits around, usually steadily losing value. But the idea that money can be exhausted isn't one that's easy to put over even in economics classes. It'll certainly take more than a few Nobel prize winners. Of course, The guessing cup game. Keep the money away from the taxpayer. gcle2003 PM Honorary Member Quote gcle2003 The guessing cup game? I don't know that one, seriously. In depressions you need to move money from people who would save it to people who will spend it. In booms you need to do the opposite. It's called negative feedback and it's essential to all control systems. ('People' there includes governments and corporations too.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_feedback Of course in economics you usually look for controlled growth rather that simple stability, so you need less action in booms than in depressions. Citizen of Ankh-Morpork. Never believe anything until it has been officially denied - Sir Humphrey Appleby, 1984. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG78kSNqxk0&feature=related I'm sure there is a name for it, but dummy that i am, i can't think of it right now. When i talk economics with you, i always wind up feeling like "Homer Simpson". DOH! In the UK the similar game with three cards, one of them usually the Queen of Hearts, is called 'Find the Lady' or less picturesquely the Three Card Trick. I can't remember what it's called when you use cups either. On the general point though the intent is not to keep the money away from the 'taxpayer' (i.e. everyone who pays taxes, i.e everyone) but to steer it from one group of taxpayers to another. pikeshot1600 Quote pikeshot1600 That isn't a game. That is called politics. Quote pinguin Yes, it is politics: the game that destroy countries. pinguin wrote: I think you should recalibrate. Politics is two things when it works: 1) The art of the possible by compromise and accommodation. 2) The distribution of who gets what and how much of it, predicated on who has the most influence. Politics may, in fact, be "a very low occupation," but it is much preferable to shooting at one another which is often what happens when politics does not work. Yes, politics is a fine art. The problem are the politicians. pikeshot1600 wrote: Our politicians sure do act like it's a game. Words of wisdom. However, regardless of political affiliation, a few of our politicians are doing their damnedest too make it all not work by encouraging us to turn against one another with their elimination rhetoric. I thnk you need to add to that that politics is the art of convincing people that what you are recommending benefis them, when in fact it does nothing of the kind. Put another way, that would be making your first point "The art of the possible by compromise and accomodation, but preferably deception." What? Politicians deceive and lie? I had no idea! But so do business executives and bankers and school administrators and attorneys and salesmen and children and parents. Almost everyone lies...often a lot, and certainly more than should be done, and it isn't going to change. Hopefully, as we age the B.S. Detector becomes more engaged, but from what I see, it doesn't look like that happens much. But so do business executives and bankers and school administrators and attorneys and salesmen and children and parents. Almost everyone lies...often a lot, and certainly more than should be done, and it isn't going to change. That's all politics, which are not necessarily national politics. Now you're talking about the field of micro-politics, parallelling micro-economics. Edited by gcle2003 - 02 Mar 2011 at 00:29 fantasus Arch Duke Quote fantasus Depending upon what is meant by "US decline" I am a bit curious about what the problem is, and not least who has a problem? It is not at all unimaginable that in countries loosing status as powers most of the population can gain better standards of living, health, liberties, etcetera. Nor that a majority of humans can. Good point. Britain never lost status and power faster than in the Conservative government of 1955-59 but MacMillan still won in '59 on the basis of the slogan "You never had it so good" which for most people was undoubtedly true. The European Great Powers were probably never as powerful as in the decades before the first world war, were they dominated most of the rest of the world. Still in many respects their lot in many countires improved much especially in the decades after 1945, were their situation had reversed. fantasus wrote: In the decades after 1945, the European (former) colonial powers were laying off a disproportionate amount of their defense expenditure on North America. Of course their lot improved. The USSR was 500 miles away to the east, and the bankroll was coming from 3,000 miles to the west. You forget Britain and France had the bomb. With no shilly shallying they had announded they would rely on first use to defend themselves, so anyone attacking would have been hit by nuclear weapons immediately, or at least run the risk of doing so. The rest of Western Europe had that nuclear umbrella to rely on for defence, and no need for an offensive capability. Only Britain and France had any need for foreign entanglements, and they both paid for their own. It was the non-nuclear defence that cost money. And that was largely seen as necessary by the US. Of course it is true that some European countries made a pretty good deal out of supporting US bases (and British ones), but that's not saving on their own defence but charging someone else for their ideas of defence. Also of course European countries and Japan, having been hit hard by the destruction of ww2 were in a much better position to rebuild, and nothing makes GDP shoot up faster than having to rebuild after a destructive catastrophe. A tempting explanation perhaps, but not necessarily true. The degree of destruction differed extremely, and the correspondence with economic development is not at all that obvious. Immortal Guard Location: Vancouver Isle Quote Captain Vancouver Al Jassas wrote: Hello to you all Thanks for Graham for explaining what I was saying. Warren Buffet if I am not mistaken pays around 17% of his income as taxes while the combined federal (forget state) taxes are around 30%. The average income taxes payed by the top 400 taxpayers is around 16%: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3090 This is the problem with the US. Rich people pay less rates than lower income people squeezing the lower income people and damaging the economy. A fairer tax system will cancel all that. Al-Jassas Al, as long as the political aristocracy are disproportionately multi-millionaires paying 16%, it ain't gonna happen. And isn't it the people who gave that aristocracy the power in the first place? Seeing the current political landscape of the US and to a lesser extent other countries I couldn't but help noticing the similarities between today's corporate political class and the Liberals (particularly the utilitarians) who dominated european economic policies in the 1820s untill the middle of the 19th century. Should we expect a second coming for socialism/communism? Corporate or other established financial interests now manipulate, and in essence control, elected representatives through their influence over those representatives' financial requirements...."you want media exposure, we'll help pay for it - for a price." Is there a "solution" to the relative decline of the US? Probably not. Adapting to the reality that the disproportionate allocation of prosperity that existed, 1950 - 1980/90 is over is probably the best that can be expected. Realistically, the prosperity that was thought to exist, or that could be expected, was an historical anomaly that could never be sustained. The return to a more usual reality of basic subsistence and to more modest expectations seems to be in order. What that may mean for the outraged dis-entitled citizen, or the dis-enfranchised union member has yet to be determined. The observed effects of "globalization" seem to be the leveling out of labor costs, the diminishment of working class influence, and the concentration of wealth in fewer hands. That tends to make it easier for the wealthiest to control the "political aristocracy" by purchasing influence and access to media. Media can be manipulated to demonize and destroy whoever the adversary of the day might be - unions; political opponents; unpopular social groups, etc. The United States will survive as a great power, even if only in the Western Hemisphere, and the United States will continue to to be a prosperous alternative to other places to live, but not in the relative sense of 1950 to 1990. Too many things have changed, and they are basically reverting to the longer term historical reality that existed before that period of anomaly. I'd suggest that the anomoly of the 1950-80 period was that it was actually a sustainable one, bracketed by a longer period of greed invoked bust and boom. The '30s was an almost terminal bust, saved only by the application of what could be described as socialist measures. We returned to the precipice again in '08, and again the world was saved by the application of socialism, in this case corporate welfare, something the business community finds no problem with, as apposed to benefits for individuals, which go against the laws of god and common sense, as they see it. This period was sustainable because it had an economy that urged the continual recirculation of money, and also the flow of capital into relatively worthwhile projects, rather than into personal wealth and ostentation. The factors that helped to ensure this are the very ones being chipped away at today: labour unions, social programs, a progressive tax system. It is only those mesmerized by the corporate line that believe that, in a country with one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world, citizens cannot afford the very same things others of a relatively similar position most certainly can, like a universal health care system, pensions that are on a sustainable financial basis, and other benefits taken as a given. Edited by Captain Vancouver - 03 Mar 2011 at 11:16 opuslola Location: MS, USA Quote opuslola Just how many times to have to type these words? Taxes levied upon corporations and other businesses within the USA and the World, do not result in those "Capitalist" entities actually paying. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism Instead, these so called "taxes" are merely moved into the "cost of doing business", in their "balance sheets!" If you do not know what in the hell I am speaking of then you do not know anything about economics! It is the ultimate consumer, in "all" cases, that eventually pay these so called "taxes upon the rich!" To make a quote from a great movie "The God's must be crazy?" And so are most of you! Regards anyway! opuslola wrote: Hi opuslola, I am curious as to why you think the business will always without fail pass on the cost of increased tax liabilities to the consumer. Where is your evidence for this? As opposed, for example, to the company absorbing the entire cost or part of the cost of the tax liability. If a product is too highly priced because the company includes these prices in the product cost, then consumers may think that the price is inherently too high and simply decide to do without the commodity. The only way for the company to prevent a massive loss in market share and quantity of purchases would be to absorb some of the cost out of profits. Faced with a choice between losing most of their market and reducing the bonuses and dividends paid to executives and shareholders - most companies would wisely vote in favour of the long term success of the company and choose to absorb some of the cost rather than losing long term customer patronage. And the fact remains that most large businesses can afford to do this, perhaps only a few such as the airline industry as earning such threadbare profits that they have no choice but to pass on the cost to the consumer. It will differ from one circumstance to another, of course, but I do not think that the conclusion that the business will always saddle the consumer with increased tax liabilities is necessarily true. Especially if you tax luxuries and privlidges that people don't need and can do without. Gambling, alcohol, designer clothing, luxury cars. There should be taxed such that anyone who wishes to indulge in them is paying a large proportion of the cost into the coffers of social security programs. My dear Constantine XI! You must be frigging kidding me? Just why would a company absorb a tax that applies to all companies doing business in the same manner? Just to get a small increase in sales? NO! In most instances the "bean counters"/financial managers/tax specialists, will merely do just what the competetion would do, that is pass this new tax onto the receiver of the goods or services that every one else must also do! Otherwise, you might, for a short time, control the orders, but in the long term, you would end up having to explain to the stock holders just why the profit margin fell! You must be frigging kidding me? Just why would a company absorb a tax that applies to all companies doing business in the same manner? Just to get a small increase in sales? NO! Because then they occupy the position of market leader in terms of cost, allowing them to capture a larger share of the market, thereby increasing profits and also denying profits to their competitors... People often have a rough figure in their mind of how much they think a commidity is worth - and they will go without that commodity if they think the price is too high. For example, in 1932 the British government introduced a new tax on many 'luxuries' to impress the Americans into giving them a loan by proving they could be fiscally disciplined. One such luxury was beer. Despite increasing the tax on beer by a large fraction, government revenues on the sale of beer fell dramatically because brewers could not absorb the cost and ordinary people thought the prices extortionate compared to what they thought a beer was really worth. In most instances the "bean counters"/financial managers/tax specialists, will merely do just what the competetion would do, that is pass this new tax onto the receiver of the goods or services that every one else must also do! I won't deny that this does happen. But it is not bound to happen. Managers must assess the impact of their pricing policy to reach the optimal combination of high price with large market share. Just 'doing what everyone else does' is not exactly an inspired pricing strategy. Or they might find their market share collapsing as the competition picks off their customer base through the advantage of cost leadership - which is far worse news for shareholders than a temporary reduction in dividend payouts. One thing we are taught at university is that if a customer for whatever reason becomes dissatisfied with a supplier and tries an alternative, there is a 70% chance they won't be back. Only through oligopoly and price fixing can companies ensure that the customer always absorbs any increasing cost with no risk to the shareholder - a practice which is of course anti-competitive and should be prevented by government bodies. Al Jassas Quote Al Jassas The biggest problem with this logic is that it doesn't explain why corporations that get a negative tax rate (that is get tax credit for taxes it didn't pay) keep hiking their prices instead of reducing them? Case in point Energy companies in the US. They pay on average less than 10% (if they didn't get an outright subsidy/credit) and yet keep energy prices high (not just gas but Diesel, heating oil etc.): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/business/economy/02leonhardt.html?_r=2&ref=davidleonhardt What opuslola overlooks/is ignorant of is that all expenditures made by a corporation are costs of doing business, including the payments made to shareholders as dividends, and the attribution of 'retained' earnings to the shareholders' account. The value of the corporation itself at any point in time is exactly zero: it has assets and liabilities that exactly balance, and those liabilities include what it owes to the shareholders (the equity) along with all its other debt. So the result of increasing tax is exactly the same as the result of any other change in expenditure. It must be matched by a decrease in one or all of the other costs of doing business, including profit and wages, salaries and bonuses, or by an increase in income. Which of those is possible in any given environment is, as Constantine points out, dependent of skilled analysis of the situation plus a great deal of guessing and luck. How come companies tend to oppose wage increases asked for by unions? If it is so easy to pass costs of doing business on to the customer, why not do the same thing with wages? 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__label__wiki	0.949113	0.949113	Record Scores - antshistory Please note that this is a 'work in progress'. St Anthony's participated in poorly recorded leagues prior to 1922 and some research still needs to be done. Note also that St Anthony's record 15-2 victory over Shettleston is sometimes stated to have been 16-2. This was due to an error (later corrected) in the Evening Times "Now You Know" column. The minimum requirement for inclusion in the first two categories is nine goals for either team. The minimum requirement for the 'record draws' section is ten goals. The minimum requirement for the 'other unusual scores' section is eleven goals. RECORD WINS ST ANTHONY'S 15 SHETTLESTON 2 (Glasgow Junior Charity Cup round 1, 1942/43) GOUROCK JUNIORS 0 ST ANTHONY'S 12 (Central League Western Division, 1962/63) ST ANTHONY'S 10 WORDIE & CO. 0 (North-Eastern Junior Cup round 1 replay, 1926/27) ST ANTHONY'S 10 DISTILLERS 1 (Scottish Junior Cup round 1, 1925/26) ST ANTHONY'S 10 CLYDEBANK JUNIORS 1 (Central League Western Division, 1940/41) ST ANTHONY'S 10 POLLOK JUNIORS 2 (Elder Cottage Hospital Charity Cup round 1, 1944/45) ST ANTHONY'S 10 CLYDEBANK JUNIORS 3 (Central League Section 'B' local, 1945/46) ST ANTHONY'S 9 BRIDGETON WAVERLEY 0 (Glasgow Junior Jubilee Cup round 2, 1933/34) ST ANTHONY'S 9 MARYHILL HARP 1 (Central League Division 'C', 1947/48) ST ANTHONY'S 9 KIRKINTILLOCH ROB ROY 3 (Glasgow & District Junior League, 1906/07) ST ANTHONY'S 9 CLYDEBANK JUNIORS 4 (Central League Section 'A' local, 1947/48) RECORD LOSSES POLLOK 12 ST ANTHONY'S 0 (Sectional League Cup group stage, 1984/85) ST ANTHONY'S 3 MARYHILL 11 (Central League Cup round 1, 1996/97) JOHNSTONE BURGH 10 ST ANTHONY'S 1 (Central League Western Division, 1964/65) ASHFIELD 10 ST ANTHONY'S 2 (Central League Division 'C', 1968/69) ST ANTHONY'S 0 KILSYTH RANGERS 9 (Central League Division 'B', 1952/53) POLLOK 9 ST ANTHONY'S 0 (Sectional League Cup group stage, 2016/17) DUNTOCHER HIBERNIAN 9 ST ANTHONY'S 1 (Central League Section 'A' local, 1947/48) RECORD DRAWS ASHFIELD 7 ST ANTHONY'S 7 (Friendly, 1985/86) BELLSHILL ATHLETIC 6 ST ANTHONY'S 6 (aet) (Pompey Cup round 2, 2nd replay, 1957/58) ST ANTHONY'S 5 PARKHEAD 5 (Central League, 1935/36) KILSYTH RANGERS 5 ST ANTHONY'S 5 (Central League Division 'B', 1949/50) ST ANTHONY'S 5 NEILSTON JUNIORS 5 (Sectional League Cup group stage, 1972/73) BLANTYRE CELTIC 5 ST ANTHONY'S 5 (Central League Division 2, 1991/92) OTHER UNUSUAL SCORES ST ANTHONY'S 8 MARYHILL 5 (West of Scotland Cup round 3, 1943/44) DENNISTOUN WAVERLEY 4 ST ANTHONY'S 8 (Central League Division'B', 1955/56) KIRKINTILLOCH ROB ROY 8 ST ANTHONY'S 3 (Central League Cup round 1, 1934/35) ST ROCH'S 8 ST ANTHONY'S 3 (West of Scotland Cup round 1, 1954/55) BLANTYRE CELTIC 8 ST ANTHONY'S 3 (Central League Division 'B', 1966/67) DUNTOCHER HIBERNIAN 7 ST ANTHONY'S 4 (Central League Section 'C' local, 1948/49) PORT GLASGOW JUNIORS 7 ST ANTHONY'S 4 (Central League Division 'B', 1955/56) PARKHEAD 6 ST ANTHONY'S 5 (Glasgow Junior League, 1925/26) ST ANTHONY'S 5 ST ROCH'S 6 (Langbank Charity Cup final, 1929/30, at Southcroft Park) DREAM SEQUENCE What was a local sports reporter to do when the football was cancelled in the winter months? He had a weekly column to fill, and, let's face it, the average, small, grey Scottish town has only so many jumble sales, scout jamborees and goat-shaggers' initiation ceremonies per week. Some reporters resorted to creative writing to fill those pesky column inches. Such was the case in February, 1942, when heavy snow meant the postponement of a Kirkintilloch Rob Roy versus St Anthony's Central League Cup tie for the third week running. This is what the anonymous Kirkintilloch Herald hack came up with... John -------- came home from work on Saturday, and resigned himself to an afternoon by the fireside. He had intended being present at the Rob Roy v. St. Anthony's League Cup match, but had learned earlier in the day that the game had been called off. After dinner, he settled in his armchair with his head deep in a cushion, and his eyes glued on the pages of a book. After a time the printed words commenced to play leap-frog, and he closed his eyes and entered slumberland. Soon he found himself at Adamslie, where great crowds had gathered, the police having difficulty in regulating the various queues in order not to block the Glasgow Road to vehicular traffic. Word had got round that some very pleasant surprises were in store for Rob Roy fans. Some ten thousand excited fans crammed into Adamslie, and, occupying every point of vantage, trained their eyes on the pavilion. At 3.15 they saw the Robs' team take the field, and run to the Kirkintilloch end for the preliminary shoot-in. Who is that in goal - a dapper and agile figure? Why, none other than Johnny Jackson. And as for that swash-buckling right-back. Why, if it isn't old friend Bertie Costello, and, alongside him, a little man with a terrific kick - Puck Ure. There's Joe McManus taking up the right-half berth and Willie Lyon and Jimmy McCaffer warming up. The outside-right is Joe Burke, and he is being partnered by wee Geordie Marshall, Archie Stewart was unable to get along. Alex. Dowdells is to lead the line. But who are these two players forming the left wing? Both faces are familiar, but the fans are having difficulty in placing them. That little man is a regular bag of tricks. He's been recognised, and the word is flashed round - "Sojer" Martin. The left winger, a mere strip of a boy, is a favourite of the Kelvinside days, and probably the greatest left-wingerever to wear the Rob Roy colours - Sammy Black. The referee calls the captains to the centre of the field. McCaffer skippers the Rob Roy. Soon the teams are lined up - and they're off. The "Ants" are no match for this grand Rob Roy team. That is made apparent in the early stages of the game. Robs have struck it early, and are functioning on all cylinders. A flashing shot from Black is breasted home by Dowdells, who went crashing in like a Valentine tank. Soon the score is two, Burke having romped through to score. The "Ants" struggle on gamely against great odds, every man jack of 'em being on the defensive. Some wizardry by Martin and Marshall ends with the "Sojer" rounding three opponents like a hula dancer to thrust the ball home. This blitz has been too much for the men of Govan, who sag at the knees. Goals from McManus, Dowdells, Black, Martin, Burke, Dowdalls, Marshall, and Costello - a long-range effort - follow in quick succession. The fans have already lost count, and the referee isn't so sure. The second half produces another crop of goals, and Robs retire victorious by some 20 - or is it 22? - goals to nil. A million-dollar smile on his face, Scoular Lawson comes out to address the cheering fans, and tells them that they are all invited to a Rob Roy re-union in the Town Hall. The crowds surge towards the gates, making for the Town Hall. Soon they approach the scene of jollifications. Alas! just as he is about to enter, John -------- feels the pressure of a hand on his shoulder. He is shaken. A voice is heard saying: "Faither, mither says you'll need tae hurry up else we'll no' get in tae see Deanna Durbin." Club Honours List A British Record The 1933 History Saints & Seniors Internationalists Scottish Junior Cup Scottish Interm. Cup W. of Scotland Cup Glasgow Junior Cup G&D Intermediate Cup Evening Times Cups Knock-out League Cups Group of Death 2003 League Tables HQ	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line469
__label__wiki	0.888938	0.888938	Namn Pris Inkommet datum 007 RACING PS1 007 RACING PS1 - SLES-03355 007 Racing är ett racingspel till Playstation baserad på historien om James Bond. Spelet släpptes 2000 av Electronic Arts och utvecklades av Eutechnyx. I 007 Racing spelar spelaren den brittiska hemliga a... 007 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH PS1 007 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH PS1 PLATINUM - SLES-03134 The World Is Not Enough är titeln på ett TV-spel från 2000 baserad på filmen Världen räcker inte till som publicerats av Electronic Arts. Spelet finns utgivet ... 007 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH PS1 - SLES-03138 The World Is Not Enough är titeln på ett TV-spel från 2000 baserad på filmen Världen räcker inte till som publicerats av Electronic Arts. Spelet finns utgivet till... 007 TOMORROW NEVER DIES PS1 007 TOMORROW NEVER DIES PS1 SVENSK UTGÅVA - SLES-01324 Tomorrow Never Dies (1999) är titeln på ett spel som publicerats av Electronic Arts. Spelet finns utgivet till Playstation. KOMPLETT I BOX 007 TOMORROW NEVER DIES PS1 Tomorrow Never Dies (also known as 007: Tomorrow Never Dies) is a third-person shooter stealth video game based on the James Bond film of the same name. Developed by Black Ops Entertainment and published by Electroni... 007 TOMORROW NEVER DIES PS1 - SLES-001324 Tomorrow Never Dies (1999) är titeln på ett spel som publicerats av Electronic Arts. Spelet finns utgivet till Playstation. MANUAL, BOX OCH SKIVA - SAKNAR FRONT INLAY 2 GAMES - NEED FOR SPEED PORSCHE & MOTO RACER 2 PS1 2 GAMES - NEED FOR SPEED PORSCHE & MOTO RACER 2 PS1 - SLES-02689-T SLES-01184-T KOMPLETT I BOX 40 WINKS CONQUER YOUR DREAMS PS1 40 WINKS CONQUER YOUR DREAMS PS1 - SLES-01937 40 Winks is a platform game developed by Eurocom and published by GT Interactive as for the PlayStation. A version was developed for the Nintendo 64, and reviewed in both Nintendo Official Magazine UK an... 40 WINKS CONQUER YOUR DREAMS PS1 - SLES-01937 40 Winks is a platform game developed by Eurocom and published by GT Interactive as for the PlayStation. A version was developed for the Nintendo 64, and reviewed in both Nintendo Official Magazi... ACE COMBAT 2 PS1 ACE COMBAT 2 PS1 Ace Combat 2 is a semi-realistic combat flight simulation game made by Namco for the PlayStation game console. It is the company's second console offering in the Ace Combat series and continues the arcade style gameplay of the ... ACTION GAME FEATURING HERCULES PS1 ACTION GAME FEATURING HERCULES PS1 - SCES-00891 Disney's Hercules (also known in Europe as Disney's Action Game Featuring Hercules) is a video game for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows released on June 20, 1997 by Disney Interac... 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All of the action is created with motion-capture technology, so you can expect some very realistic visuals in the game. Every bicycle kick, every jump kick, and e... ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS IRON & BLOOD WARRIORS OF RAVENLOFT PS1 ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS IRON & BLOOD WARRIORS OF RAVENLOFT PS1 - SLES-00386 Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft is a 3D fighting game released for PC and PlayStation. Plot Iron & Blood is based on Ravenloft, a campaign s... AIR COMBAT PS1 AIR COMBAT PS1 PLATINUM - SCES-00007 Air Combat, is a semi-realistic flight-sim action game released by Namco in Japan in 1992 (and in the United States in 1993) for their Namco System 21 "Polygonizer" arcade system, and ported to ... ALEX FERGUSONS PLAYER MANAGER 2001 PS1 ALEX FERGUSONS PLAYER MANAGER 2001 PS1 - SLES-03150 KOMPLETT I BOX ALIEN TRILOGY PS1 ALIEN TRILOGY PS1 VALUE SERIES - SLES-00101 Alien Trilogy is a first-person shooter video game developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows platforms in 1996. The game i... ALL STAR SOCCER PS1 ALL STAR SOCCER PS1 - SLES-00747 Overview Released in Europe in 1997, All Star Soccer is a football game featuring cartoonish graphics yet compelling gameplay. Perhaps the most famous part of the game is the hilarious commentary done by impr... ALL STAR TENNIS 2000 PS1 ALL STAR TENNIS 2000 PS1 - SLES-02764 All Star Tennis 2000 is a tennis game developed by Smart Dog (GBC)/Aqua Pacific (PS1) and published by Ubisoft for the Game Boy Color and PlayStation platforms. KOMPLETT I BOX ALL STAR TENNIS 99 PS1 ALL STAR TENNIS 99 PS1 - SLES-01433 All Star Tennis '99 is a simulation tennis game for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color released in 1999, that was developed by Smart Dog and published by Ubi Soft. The featured player on the USA ... ALONE IN THE DARK THE NEW NIGHTMARE PS1 ALONE IN THE DARK THE NEW NIGHTMARE PS1 - SLES-02801 Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, alternatively known as Alone in the Dark 4, is the fourth installment of the survival horror video game series Alone in the Dark, developed by Darkwor...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line471
__label__wiki	0.562938	0.562938	Agent wanted Your present location:Home -> About us -> Company Overview The Intensive Research and Development Institute Brings about Hi-Efficient Technical Innovation In 2000 the Group established a hi-tech enterprise in Beijing ? Beijing Zhangguang 101 Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. with an investment of 50 million yuan, occupying 15,000 square meters. The enterprise, which was built strictly based on GMP standard of medical enterprise, owns a scientific research production building with national first-rate manufacture and inspection equipment. 101 Hair Institute affiliated to Beijing Zhangguang 101 Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. possesses 11 doctors-in-charge, 6 associate doctors-in-charge and 30 scientific researchers with rich clinical experience. Besides, the institute also invited some related experts and professors from scientific research institutes and universities in Beijing to join in, taking the world puzzle ? hair shedding proof and treatment as the main target to reach, jointly setting up related subject, and conducting in-dept discussion and study to hair diseases together as well as the development of new products. With the introduction of current sophisticated extraction technology for distilling traditional Chinese medicine, employing the advanced theory of "Targeting Medication", the company conducts the research and development of hi-tech products, realizing the ideal combination between Chinese traditional medicine and high technology of the world. The first-class research team and the advanced international research institute make it certain that Zhangguang 101 becomes the leading brand in the market. 101 Group will seize the opportunities to expedite its development in order to become a top-rank modernized hi-tech giant in the field of hair regrowth. The Top-rank Products Root in Exquisite Techniques 101 Group pays attention to the development and application of production technology. With the modern advanced technology "vacuum homogenization" and the reform in the distillation of traditional Chinese medical preparation and the distillation of the effective elements of traditional Chinese medicine, especially in the manufacture techniques of finished products, the fluidity and smell of the products have been improved greatly. The company is continuously increasing the scientific content of traditional medical science so that the effective elements contained in the Chinese medicine formula can become purer and more concentrative eventually, ensuring that the technical level of the company is synchronous with that of the world. Pacemaker of Hair Regrowth Industry From the successful research and development of 101 products in 1974 to present, after undergoing 30 years' trials and hardships, 30 years' endeavors, and 30 years' unremitting pursuit, the historic monument in hair regrowth industry erected by today's Zhangguang 101 enables the brand of 101 to enjoy unprecedented reputation at home and abroad: * Inaugurated the epoch of Chinese hair regrowth industry successfully, and made outstanding achievements for the development of hair career and rise of hair products. * Being a forerunner of hair regrowth industry, take the lead in obtaining the batch number for the hair formula products WEI ZHUANG TE ZI approved by the Ministry of Public Health. It is a pioneer enterprise in hair regrowth industry. * Mr. Zhao Zhangguang, the inventor of 101, is one of the scientists and inventors in the same trade who obtained Science & Technology Approbation Certificate issued by the state council at early time, and have the privilege to use the special subsidies of the government. As a most influential brand in hair regrowth and hair shedding proof with traditional Chinese medicine, 101 is the only hair regrowth gift presented to the head of foreign government. The good effects bring about resounding and far-reaching influence in the international community. Among the firms of the same trade, 101 is the only brand that won 11 international awards successively in the World Invention Expositions. It caused a great sensation throughout home and abroad, and has been accredited by both Chinese and the international communities as a well-known brand in hair regrowth, hair nourishing and hair shedding proof. Besides, it has promoted and established the status of the Chinese medicines in the international market. * At present, 101 has the largest chain service organization for hair regrowth, hair nourishing, and hair shedding proof in the world (So far, there have been over 2,000 service centers across the world.). Its managerial mode "Combining Medical Science with Business, Promoting Business with Medical Science" provides good service for hair losers. Meanwhile, the products of the same kind also strive to follow the lead of this managerial mode. * With its brilliant performance, classical development history and unique managerial mode, 101 was compiled into the Typical Cases of Chinese MBA and the Records of Zhongguancun Science Park. * Depending upon its incomparable authoritative technology as well as the safe and effective quality assurance, 101 have passed the authentication of ISO9000. It ranks first among the firms of the same trade in its popularity, reputation and efficacy, and it is entitled as "expert in hair health" as a compliment. Honorable Journey Faced with present furious market competition, the products, science & technology and the service of 101 make it outstanding and gain the global accreditation and recognition. While guaranteeing the quality of the products, the company also needs to improve its quality and service level constantly. Only in this way can 101 remain invincible and make for resplendence continuously. * First-grade knight medal holder in the 36th Brussels ULIKA Invention Exhibition * Oscar invention award and gold medal of product holder in the 16th Geneva New Technology Invention Exhibition * Gold-cup winner of Paris Industrial & Commercial Chamber of France 1989 Gold medal winner of the 1st Beijing International Exposition * Gold medal winner of "Shen Nong Cup" in the 1st Traditional Chinese Medical Culture Exposition of China * 1991The only gold medal winner in the 14th World Invention Exhibition of the Same Kind of Products in New York, USA * 1993Gold medal winner and Premiership gold-cup winner in the 42nd Brussels ULIKA Invention Exposition. * 1997Gold medal winner in Malaysia International Famous Special and High Quality Products Exhibition Company Overview Company Culture Science & Technology Copyright 2016 www.101international.com All Rights Reserve. +86-1065615101/ 65616101	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line479
__label__wiki	0.901441	0.901441	Named insured and additional insured: Same policy, different coverage Posted on September 24, 2019 By Alexandre Toupin Share Named insured and additional insured: Same policy, different coverage on Twitter Share Named insured and additional insured: Same policy, different coverage on Facebook Share Named insured and additional insured: Same policy, different coverage on Linkedin Share %s using EmailNamed insured and additional insured: Same policy, different coverage In the recent decision, Sky Solar (Canada) Ltd. v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company, 2019 ONSC 4165, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice undertook a comprehensive overview of three fundamental concepts of insurance law, namely, the scope of coverage, forfeiture and the duty of good faith. This decision is of interest to insurers, as it clarifies the coverage language contained in Additional Insured Endorsements in the context of commercial general liability insurance. Furthermore, it provides clear demarcation between reasonable and improper conduct by insurers when assessing coverage. Sky Solar (Canada) Ltd. (Sky Solar) is a developer of solar energy projects. In April 2012, Sky Solar and Marnoch Electrical Services Inc. (Marnoch) entered into two contracts for the construction of solar energy projects in Brampton and Bolton, Ontario. Pursuant to these contracts, Marnoch agreed to provide specified insurance coverages to Sky Solar. Firstbrook, Cassie & Anderson Limited (FCA), Marnoch’s insurance broker, issued certificates of insurance confirming that Economical Mutual Insurance Company (Economical) had issued a commercial general liability policy (Policy) in connection with the projects. The certificates of insurance issued to Marnoch named Sky Solar as an Additional Insured under the Policy. Marnoch provided these to Sky Solar concurrently. The Policy included an Additional Insured Endorsement, which stated: “[the insurance] applies to those stated as ‘Additional Insureds’, but only with respect to liability arising out of the operations of the Named Insured.” A defective transformer caught fire at one of the solar project locations. Sky Solar investigated the fire and, in spite of its conclusions, continued to use the same transformer from the same manufacturer at both project locations. In November and December 2012, Sky Solar sold the solar energy projects to Firelight Solar Limited Partnership (Firelight). However, months later, another transformer ignited. This second fire caused total shutdowns at both solar energy project locations. Firelight claimed remediation costs and loss of income against Sky Solar based on contractual warranties. Sky Solar settled the warranty claims with Firelight. In exchange, Firelight reassigned the benefit of Marnoch’s contractual warranties to Sky Solar. In September 2013, Sky Solar commenced arbitration proceedings against Marnoch for all of its losses resulting from the fires. An arbitral award dismissed Sky Solar’s claim, and the Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal that followed. Desperate to minimize its losses, Sky Solar commenced an action against Economical and FCA. For the purposes of this blog post, we draw particular attention to three issues involving Economical. First, whether Sky Solar’s liability to Firelight is liability arising out of the operations of Marnoch. Second, whether Sky Solar forfeited coverage by failing to comply with conditions set out in the Policy. And third, whether Economical breached a duty of good faith owed to Sky Solar. Scope of coverage: The loss did not “arise out of the operations of” Marnoch The Court stated that “there [was] insufficient proximity between the decision taken by Sky Solar to continue to use the transformer and the failure of the transformer […], on the one hand, and Marnoch’s operational actions to order and install the transformer, on the other hand” to conclude that Sky Solar’s liability to Firelight arose out of Marnoch’s operations. Sky Solar argued that “arising out of the operations of the Named Insured” must be given a broad meaning. The Court accepted this assertion and further explained, with reference to case law, that the words “arising out of” have been interpreted to include such meanings as “originating from”, “growing out of”, “flowing from”, “incident to”, or “having connection with” (Waterloo (City) v. Economical Mutual Insurance Co, 2006 CarswellOnt 8451, at paras 30-31). In addition, the Court noted the phrase “arising out of” in the Additional Insured Endorsement should be construed as requiring “an unbroken chain of causation” and a connection that is more than merely incidental or fortuitous (Vernon Vipers Hockey Club v. Canadian Recreation Excellence (Vernon) Corporation, 2012 BCCA 291, at paras 28-52). This conclusion drew upon the following findings in the arbitral award: Marnoch’s scope of work was limited to the installation of solar equipment; Sky Solar designed the photovoltaic system, the wiring and the type of equipment to be installed; Sky Solar turned to Marnoch for help in locating an appropriate replacement transformer after the first fire; Sky Solar was left to decide exclusively whether or not to accept the replacement transformer; Marnoch was not asked for its views on the suitability of the replacement transformer, nor did it have expertise or technical knowledge to assess the relative advantages of different transformers; and Sky Solar confirmed its approval of the replacement transformer. In the Court’s view, the decision respecting the transformers to be installed at the solar project location rested entirely on Sky Solar. In other words, Marnoch located an appropriate replacement transformer, but ultimately Sky Solar approved the replacement. This “broke” the chain of causation required by the Additional Insured Endorsement. Forfeiture: Sky Solar forfeited coverage by failing to comply with the conditions of the Policy While the Court concluded that the Additional Insured Endorsement did not cover Sky Solar, it agreed to comment on Economical’s forfeiture submissions. Put briefly, the Court held that Sky Solar did not comply with the conditions of the Policy. Economical argued that regardless of whether Sky Solar had coverage under the Additional Insured Endorsement, Sky Solar did not comply with the Policy when it “admitted liability to Firelight, settled Firelight’s claim, and voluntarily paid Firelight amounts for remediation costs and loss of revenue without [Economical’s] consent”. Stated differently, Economical relied on the insured’s post-loss duties to communicate and cooperate with the insurer. Sky Solar addressed this with four submissions. First, Sky Solar maintained that Economical could not rely on the conditions of the Policy because it was not set out in the certificates of insurance in Sky Solar’s possession. The Court rejected this interpretation of the law by stating that the certificate “is nothing more than evidence of coverage, but cannot and does not create a separate and different policy or impose new duties on the insurer”. Second, Sky Solar denied that it failed to comply with the conditions because the Policy used the words “you” and “your” to refer to the “Named Insured”, being Marnoch, which had provided a notice of loss to Economical via FCA. The Court, again, rejected that interpretation. An Additional Insured is not relieved from its obligation to comply with the Policy. In any event, the notice requirement was only one of several conditions. Another hurdle remained; Sky Solar had settled a claim without Economical’s consent. Third, Economical lost the right to rely on the conditions when it advised Sky Solar of its denial to defend and indemnify under the Additional Insured Endorsement. The Court flatly countered this submission because Sky Solar paid a settlement amount to Firelight before asking Economical to defend the claim. The insurer may lose certain rights under a policy when it refuses “to defend an insured in circumstances where the policy stipulates that a defence is required.” However, that was not the case here. Fourth, Sky Solar argued that it was entitled to relief from forfeiture because the evidence demonstrated that Economical would deny coverage regardless of compliance with the conditions of the Policy. Furthermore, Sky Solar argued that it mitigated its damages by settling with Firelight, and thus Economical was in no way prejudiced. Unsatisfied with the evidence adduced by Sky Solar regarding the absence of prejudice, the Court ultimately reasoned that there was “non-compliance,” as opposed to “imperfect compliance” with the Policy; therefore, if there had been coverage under the Policy, Sky Solar would have forfeited such coverage. Duty of good faith: Economical did not act in bad faith Although Economical initially denied that Sky Solar was an Additional Insured, Economical quickly acknowledged Sky Solar’s status as an Additional Insured less than two weeks later. The Court found that this conduct did not amount to bad faith. Additionally, the Court noted that denying coverage without appointing an adjuster or conducting an investigation into the second fire did not breach the duty of good faith owed to the insured. Economical had denied coverage on an objectively reasonable basis, specifically, on the basis that Sky Solar had approved the transformers—not Marnoch. Lastly, Sky Solar maintained that Economical improperly attributed different coverage to Marnoch and itself despite their identical status as insureds under the Policy. While this may make sense theoretically, the Court disagreed because coverage would have been tailored to each customer’s individual risk exposure. The Additional Insured Endorsement had clear language to that effect. This decision highlights the importance of reviewing insurance policies prior to their issuance when the obligation to obtain insurance for a construction project falls squarely on another party. Indeed, an organization should consider whether an Additional Insured Endorsement is satisfactory in light of its risk exposure. If not, the construction contract should explicitly require that the organization be a Named Insured instead of an Additional Insured. For more information about this case, please contact Alexandre Toupin or another member of Dentons’ Insurance group. Case Comment: Condo. Corp No. 0427067 v. Aviva Canada Inc., 2019 ABQB 678 Court of Appeal for Ontario strongly affirms the modified causation test: Hunt v. Peel Mutual Insurance Company	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line489
__label__wiki	0.679777	0.679777	Time in Memory Josephus on 9/8/7 BC (3) It is commonly attested by scholars that Herod the Great executed his sons, Alexander & Aristobulus, in the year 7 BC. I do believe this date is solid, but how do we know?. In post #1 of this series, I agreed with Daniel Schwartz who said it gets repeated blindly too often. At face value, I admitted, it could have been late 8 BC. But in post #2, I began a closer look at the travel logistics involved. As it turns out, the old estimate seems to hold up extremely well. What follows is an awful lot of work, but it may produce unexpected benefits. Read on, and we'll see... Herod's man Olympus sails to Rome in 8 BC, but Augustus left to make war in Germany some time before June. Olympus also went the long way, stopping at Cilicia en route, so there's no way Olympus catches the Emperor in time. (Let alone, whether Nicolas could have done so first - on which, see post #2.) So Olympus has to wait until after the campaign - July stretches the imagination, but for argument's sake, let's pretend Caesar quit half way through the season. There's a lot else that still has to happen, before Herod can kill A&A. After Nicolas AND Olympus get their hearings with Caesar, the Emperor sends a letter to Herod with advice about A&A. (~48 days) Then, Herod has to call a council of important men, including the Governor of Syria. Assuming everyone confirms the first suggested date, and comes right away, the fastest possible gathering is about two weeks out. (The absolute minimum time now is ~60 days, total.) The council meets at Berytus, after which Herod himself went to Tyre. (another two days) And now we come to the critical point. At Tyre, Nicolas arrives by ship from Rome, a bare minimum of 62 days after Olympus met Caesar, but probably much more. Can this reunion at Tyre happen in 8 BC? It's conceivable, but not likely. For Nicolas to arrive at Tyre before November, Augustus would have to be back in Rome before September. That would be odd for a campaigning season, especially since we have no particular reasons for suspecting Augustus quit Germany early this year. Far from it - the campaign has to be reconstructed from several ancient sources (H/t Peter Swan). It doesn't sound like it was extremely quick. Velleius [who, granted, always exaggerates in praise of Tiberius] says Tiberius traversed and subdued "every part of Germany". Suetonius & Dio Cassius tell us Augustus & Tiberius [together] relocated 40,000 Suebi & Sugambri tribespeople, settling them on the Gaulish side of the Rhine. Tacitus says it was "policy, more than force" that won the settlements with these tribes, but whatever Tiberius did won him a Triumph, which was not celebrated until the following Spring. No time for an Autumn parade suggests Tiberius stayed almost until winter, but evidently the Emperor himself stayed at least long enough to direct the settlements of the Sugambri into Gaul. Finally, Dio adds that Augustus, back in Rome, accepted the permanent commemoration of his birthday, September 28th, but preferred that the month of Sextilis be re-named as "August" because he had won so many battles in that month. All these clues put together suggest the Emperor was still in Germany during at least part of August, becoming victorious at yet another campaign in that month. It also sounds like Caesar must have been in Rome early enough to accept the plans for celebrating his birthday, and if Tiberius himself stayed longer in Northern Europe that could explain why the Triumph was postponed until after winter. Leaving Germany after early August would put Augustus back in Rome by mid-September - but not before September. The probable timeline for Augustus makes impossible even the fastest conceivable timeline for Nicolas-to-Tyre. And faster than plausible timelines for Augustus still require the fastest conceivable timeline for Nicolas-to-Tyre, and/or a very late arrival date, stretching the bounds of sailing season beyond practical reasonability. "The Fast" when Luke sailed to Rome [59 AD] fell on October 6th. For Nicolas to beat that date, Augustus would have to leave Germany around late June! If there were any other reason to believe the execution of Alexander & Aristobulus happened in 8 BC, we might be bound to stretch plausibility on these considerations - but there is not, so we are not. The sequence of events in Josephus falls into the calendar more neatly the more we include events from other sources. As often happens, travel-time and sailing season offer the most restrictive data, which is therefore the most helpful. Nicolas of Damascus must have waited in Rome during the winter of 8/7 BC. There are too many variables for things to happen any faster. It seems Herod, for whatever reasons of his own, drug his feet a bit in getting the council together. Maybe, in Rome, Olympus hadn't gotten to see Augustus right away after his return. And surely Augustus, as would have been extremely characteristic for the Emperor, deliberated a while before writing his letter of advice on such a weighty matter. Whenever Herod finally did call the council, it's likely the Governor, Sentius Saturninus, didn't have a free moment in his immediate schedule, or perhaps not for a while. On top of all this, maybe Herod just couldn't make a final decision, emotionally, without his chief advisor's personal input - and scheduled the council for a time near his arrival. At the very least, the King of the Jews did decide to coordinate with Nicolas one more time, sending word to him at some point that Tyre would be their meeting site. Any or all of these additional factors add significant amounts of extra time to our considerations. In sum, based on all of this evidence, there's simply no way Nicolas could plausibly sail back from Rome in 8 BC. Therefore, Nicolas arrived at Tyre in the spring of 7 BC. Some weeks after his arrival [May/June?], Herod gave the order to execute his sons, Alexander & Aristobulus. Not only is the old estimate solid, but those scholars should be totally vindicated for whom this date has been "accepted as canonical". On a personal note, I'm grateful for the footnote of Daniel Schwartz. This has been fantastic exercise. And it's not over yet... Posted by Bill Heroman on January 28, 2009 For timely updates, SUBSCRIBE, via Email. Feeder Teasers Define "Spirit"? Living Rituals Luke's Written Sources (2) Football, Faith & Dating Mark's Gospel Jesus = God (Incomprehensible) Recent Shared Items Dio & Josephus on Drusus & Herod Did Drusus' Death Hurt Herod in 9 BC? (3) Reconstruction of Thessalonica in 51 AD Click on this hillside to visit my early research project (2001-2006) at www.Thessalonica.Net Bill Heroman \| Create Your Badge All text on this site copyright 2019 by Bill Heroman, but publishable ideas may be given away "free to good homes". Contact for details. Contact Bill by E-mail Scholar- palooza Still need MORE cowbell? For links to 600+ Biblical Studies Blogs (and related content), click here. Just, ah, buckle up first! "If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient observation than to any other reason." -- Sir Isaac Newton	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line494
__label__cc	0.712217	0.287783	KICK-OFF (The District Line #1) #Exclusive Excerpt & Call for ARC Readers! Kick Off is the first book in my new (or well, old, kinda) The District Line series, and I’ll be self publishing it on Kindle Unlimited on 13 March 2018. It’s been a long and painstaking process, and a real labour of love, to get this re release up to standard but now I’m ready to roll and am seeking ARC readers in exchange for honest reviews. So, read on for the cover reveal, the blurb and an exclusive excerpt of the first chapter. If this feels like something you’d like to read and review in time for the launch, then use the contact button below to send me an email. What happens when opposite sides of the track collide? East Londoner Jay Ruttman has only ever wanted one thing― to be a professional footballer. But after a disastrous brawl on the pitch gets him released from his pro-Academy, he has to follow plan B and enrolls as university Sports Scholar. Head down, train hard and get scouted is his motto. Until he crashes into the man who might just shoot his dreams out of the park. Kensington elite Sebastian (Seb) Saunders has only ever wanted one thing―to be a rock star. But his father has other plans for him, including taking the helm of his multimillion-pound new business venture across the pond. Live it up, chase the dream and rock out for as long as he can is his mantra. Until he crashes into the man who might just rock his world off its scale. Jay and Seb live at opposite ends of London’s District Line, separated by wealth, status, family traditions and their own life-long dreams. This startling and gritty contemporary romance series sees them both having to overcome barriers, face fears and beat rejection to fight for the love they need to achieve it all. Exclusive Excerpt Hard Tackle “I was thinking we could all have a nice Sunday roast together this week. Me and your dad, Bryan and Cheryl, you and―” “If you say Ann, I’m gonna have to punch somethin’.” Jay Ruttman scraped his floppy blond hair from his eyes and screwed the top on his sports bottle, trying not to imagine the neck was his mother’s. Sighing, Barbara hung the tatty tea towel she’d used to dry her plastic Tupperware box back on the rail under their kitchen sink. “I wasn’t gonna say Ann at all. I was going to say you and, I don’t know, someone else.” “Who, Mum?” Jay immediately bit his tongue. This route of conversation didn’t require further encouragement. “Actually don’t answer that. Can’t you just moan about the state of me kit instead?” Barbara pointed an accusatory finger. “Oh, you’ll be picking up the mud you trampled all over the carpet last night before you leave.” Narrowing her eyes, Barbara yanked out a sheet of tin foil from the box, tore it off using the serrated plastic teeth and wrapped her delicately made ham sandwich in it. “You’ve been going to that university for a few months now, you can’t tell me you ain’t met nobody. And I know you was talking to a girl on the phone the other week. Are you embarrassed by us, Jay? Is that what it is? Because we don’t have lots of money like your university friends do, you don’t invite any of them to meet us?” “No, Mum. That ain’t it. I’ve just not found anyone decent enough to meet you.” He hoped that flattery would suffice enough for his mum to just drop it, and added a peck to her cheek for good measure. His mother tugged at Jay’s lightly golden-stubbled chin with her thumb and forefinger and jerked his face from side to side. “You think I don’t know a bullshitter when I see one, son? Bryan Ruttman came before you, remember? So who was she? On the phone?” “No one, Mum. Just a girl.” Jay swigged from his bottle whilst stretching and twisting to warm up his tense muscles for his now crucial morning run. There wasn’t much room in the tiny kitchen, and he batted his mother with his shoulder. She fell against the counter and gave him a stern eyeful. Jay mouthed his apology. “Heidi,” Jay croaked out. “But seriously, there ain’t no point going on. We went out. Once. It didn’t work out.” Barbara curled her hand around her youngest son’s arm and looked directly into his trademark bright-blue Ruttman eyes. “Maybe you need to talk less about football?” She grabbed her blue fleece emblazoned with the supermarket logo of the store she worked at and left their tiny terrace house. Jay glared after her, full of his ritual exasperation. “Football.” Jay had forgotten his father was there at the circular kitchen table, flicking through the local morning rag that he only ever read the back pages of. “That’s what your mind should be on.” John folded up the paper, slammed it onto the table surface and slurped from his mug of builder’s tea. “That’s where the money is, son. Not girls. You can get all the birds you want when you get back playing professional.” With a hard slap between Jay’s shoulder blades, John grabbed his keys from the sideboard and left the house in much the same way Jay’s mother had. The low growl of the diesel engine from his father’s van masked Jay’s deep-throated one. Clenching his fists into balls, Jay pelted out of the front door into the narrow East London residential street. He held up a hand in a reluctant wave to his father still warming the engine on his old van, and set pace for the three-mile trail into university. The mood I’m now in, I’m gonna do this run in half the bleedin’ time. He swerved through the parked cars, bounded over the crossroads and careened through the people milling into Plaistow District Line tube station. Rush hour meant the High Street swarmed with those heading to work or performing other early rituals. Like the school run. Jay swerved through many a child in buggies and teens in uniform. Hoping to keep his head down for the next few minutes, he pumped his legs hard and passed the tower blocks and various shops opening up. “Ruttman!” The striped-apron-wearing owner setting up the bistro tables at the corner Pie, Mash and Liquor haunt thwarted Jay’s chance of getting through the run in solitude. “Reggie.” Jay tapped the bloke’s hand for a high five and hurtled on past. “We’re still countin’ on ya, man!” Jay waved and sped up. Passing Plaistow Park, he breathed in the scent of freshly cut grass and stud marks impressed in the mud from last night’s game. A group of school kids, blazers as goal posts, were getting in a quick kickabout before the school bell beckoned the end of their enjoyment. Jay smiled. My youth, right there. One of the teens stopped their chance at goal and waved an erratic hand in the air, hollering the nickname that had become second nature in his neighbourhood. Jay saluted the best he could, but frowned. After he’d chucked a left, his calves stiffened with the addictive stretch and burn. The grey clouds finally opened up, drizzling fine rain onto his already sweaty blond hair, and he pounded into the enclosed Greenway cycle route. Time to switch off and get moving. He sprinted, the clear cycle path allowing him free rein to grimace, but he held in the scream wanting to burst out into the frosty morning air. The cathartic release would only be short-lived. He shut his eyes, pushing harder towards his goal, the way he always did. Blowing out the air gathered in his lungs, he bounded over the Docklands Light Railway bridge and reached the gleaming black entrance gates to the pristine glass-fronted modern campus. Gotta be a personal best! “Rutters!” Not getting the chance to check his sports watch, Jay held up a hand in acknowledgement of one of his fellow scholars queuing at the ATM. There was an army of them dotted around his university campus, all proudly wearing the navy and sky-blue tracksuits displaying the bold white SPORTS SCHOLAR across the back. Jay spun a left at the riverside dock. Another yell of his nickname and Jay scanned the students cluttering the main campus square. Nathan, his teammate and captain, waved. Jay ran backwards, squinting through the now pouring rain, attempting to decipher what Nathan’s hand signals were all about. But before he could return any type of gesture, a hard collision sent Jay toppling to the ground and landing in a heap on the rough concrete. “Shit!” Clambering to stand, Jay twisted to see who or what, if the impact on his lower back was anything to go by, had rammed into him so fiercely. “Fucking hell, man!” The dark-haired fella splayed out on the ground, cradling a huge black leather guitar case, didn’t give Jay a second glance. “Bollocks.” Jay flicked his hair away from his forehead. “You all right?” He held out a hand, but the bloke either didn’t notice, or care for it to help him up. “Fucking great. You know, most people run forwards. Helps them see where they’re fucking going.” The man kneeled, wiping the mud and grit from the case. Jay bit his lip, preventing a smile. The bloke’s posh Queen’s English, regardless of the overused curse words, wasn’t something encountered all that often in these parts of East London. “Sorry.” Jay shook his head. The bloke clipped open the case, revealing an elegant red and black electric guitar. The instrument appeared to be safely tucked into the foam inners, but it didn’t stop the fella from checking it over. Jay couldn’t blame him. That thing looked about as expensive as his Dad’s motor. “Is it damaged?” Jay crouched and reached out trembling fingers to touch the paint work. Please don’t be ruined, I ain’t got the cash to pay for a replacement, and it ain’t like I can do a hit-and-run here. The man batted his hand away with a grunt. “You play guitar?” Jay shook his head and stood. “Then leave her alone.” “It’s a her?” Chocolate-brown doe-eyes glanced up. Jay stumbled onto the curb, but his trainer slipped on the wet concrete and he fell back to road level, all the while those dark eyes widened with every bumbling movement Jay made. “Don’t you people get expert training?” The man finally blinked, his thick black eyelashes entangling together as if in an embrace. “You know, teach you how to run the right fucking way?” His lingering scrutiny made Jay swallow. Sweat and rain had soaked through Jay’s blue and white polyester mesh football shirt, and it clung to his clammy skin. Scraps of dirt splattered his legs, visible below his shiny blue football shorts. Scrubbing a palm over his face to clear the gritty moisture, Jay burst out a nervous chuckle. “Maybe I should leave that to the refs, right?” The man clipped shut the case and stood. “Excuse me?” “Referees? In football? They run backwards.” “Whatever.” The man hauled the case over his shoulder. “Maybe watch where you’re fucking going, hmm?” Jay’s fixed-on smile faded. The man stomped away, skin-tight dark denim jeans hugging his slender backside, and joined the queue for the cash machine. Jay dejectedly kicked the heel of his running trainer against the curb, then legged it away towards the Sports Centre. Author Note: Book Length: 74,762 words Kick Off is book one in the District Line serial. Whilst this is a standalone novel, please note that it may not end in a traditional happy ever after. Jay and Sebastian’s story continues throughout the three books as a complete story arc. Book 2, Break Through, follows on from Kick Off and will be released in April 2018. This is a rerelease of the District Line originally published both on Wattpad and self-published on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for a short time in 2016. It has gone through major edits, with parts of the story adapted and character names changed to fit in with the theme of this newer version. For those who have read the original, it is advised to restart the series to be aware of the changes that have been made. The District Line series is set between the years 2004 and 2008. Whilst some events, places and trademarks are true to this timeline, some discretion is advised for complete accuracy in order to create this work of fiction. To request an ARC copy please contact C F White via email or comment below. Thanking you all in advance 🙂 Break Through (The District Line #2) Cover Reveal & Exclusive Excerpt #RainbowSnippets ready for a little Misdemeanor #Rainbowsnippets gives its all 21-22 #Rainbowsnippets gets a little Love & Tea Bags	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line513
__label__wiki	0.927688	0.927688	Lewinsky Meets With Independent Counsel's Office (07-27-98) Starr Subpoenas Clinton To Appear Before Grand Jury (07-25-98) Lead Secret Service Agent Testifies (07-23-98) Starr Appeals Judge's Sanctions Over Leaks (07-21-98) Secret Service Agents Give Grand Jury Testimony (07-17-98) Justice Appeals Secret Service Dispute To Supreme Court (07-16-98) Starr, Justice Face Off Over New Secret Service Subpoenas (07-15-98) Secret Service Must Testify, Appeals Court Rules (07-07-98) Day Two Of Tripp Grand Jury Testimony (07-02-98) Text Of Chief Justice Rehnquist's Order Denying Secret Service Stay (7-17-98) Documents From Secret Service Privilege Case (05-20-98) Timeline/Players Tripp: No Stranger To Controversy Who Are Plato Cacheris And Jacob Stein? A Chronology: Key Moments In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal Cast of Characters In The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal Tripp Received Death Threats After Lewinsky Controversy Broke WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 27) -- Death threats were made against Linda Tripp, the woman who says Monica Lewinsky told her of an affair with President Bill Clinton, when the scandal first broke last January, and Tripp was temporarily moved to a safe house. "There were some threats made against her life. Based upon that, the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the direction of the independent counsel's office, decided to move [her] to a secure location," Tripp's lead attorney, Anthony Zaccagnini, told CNN's "Larry King Live" Tuesday night. A government civil servant, Tripp set the Lewinsky tempest in motion by taking her taped conversations to Independent Counsel Ken Starr. Starr's grand jury is looking into reports that Clinton had a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, a former White House intern, and encouraged her to lie about it under oath. Clinton has denied both accusations. Zaccagnini predicted his client would appear before Starr's grand jury sometime in June. The attorney would not comment on the existence of the reported 20 hours of recorded conversations with Lewinsky because Tripp faces possible prosecution for taping those calls. It is a felony in Maryland, where Tripp resides, to record conversations unless both people are aware. But Tripp turned over any evidence she did had to Starr to protect herself, according to Zaccagnini. "Did she snitch? Absolutely not," he said. "What she did was obtain evidence to corroborate her version of the event." When asked why Tripp betrayed her onetime friend, Zaccagnini said it was Lewinsky who put his client in an untenable position. "Listen, these disclosures that Monica Lewinsky either made or didn't make were made by Monica Lewinsky. That's a choice that she made. Linda Tripp did not go looking for this information. "When she made that decision, and once she made the decision to put Linda in a situation where she would possibly have to lie under oath, the relationship at that point ceases to exist," he said. "Linda had to protect herself." The attorney denied that Tripp tried to set up or goad Lewinsky into revealing more about the alleged affair. Tripp does not deserve the negative public image she has gained as a result of this scandal, her lawyer said. He called Tripp "dedicated" to her two children and "serving the government." "I think Linda recognizes the position that she's in forever jeopardizes her work and her job. She really doesn't have any expectation of ever being returned to her position at the Pentagon," Zaccagnini said. "She's still working but in a reduced capacity. In Linda's view, she has been demoted." Tripp came to the White House during the Bush administration but was retained as an administrative secretary working in the counsel's office when Clinton took office in 1993. She moved to the Pentagon in August 1994, where she later became friends with Lewinsky. He also said Tripp was "absolutely not" a right-winger out to get the Clintons. "She is an independent, a registered independent and has always voted her conscience," Zaccagnini said. "For her to say that she is either a Democrat or a Republican, she would be ill at ease with because she simply is not." "This story is not about the left- wing or the right-wing. It's simply about doing the right thing." • Lewinsky Lawyer Writes Angry 'Open Letter' To Starr • Clinton Urges Businesses To Hire From Welfare Rolls • Former Attorneys General Warn Reno Against Secret Service Appeal • Idaho Primary Results • Kentucky Primary Results • Tripp Received Death Threats After Lewinsky Controversy Broke • Lawyers Wrangle Over Fees In Jones' Case • Two Ky. Congressmen To Face Off For Senate Seat; Idaho Also Holds Primary Archives \| CQ News \| TIME On Politics \| Feedback \| Help Copyright © 1998 AllPolitics All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this information is provided to you.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line516
__label__cc	0.708178	0.291822	Home About us Issues Search Submission Subscribe Contact Login An interdisciplinary journal exploring linkages between society, environment and development Introduction: The Politics of Engagement between Biodiversity Conservation and the Social Sciences Buscher Bram, Wolmer William Year : 2007\| Volume: 5\| Issue : 1 \| Page no: 1-21 1 Organising to Protect: Protecting Landscapes and Livelihoods in the Nicaraguan Hillsides Ravnborg, H.M. Conservation and Society. 2008; 6(4): 283-292 All articles in Conservation and Society, unless otherwise noted, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License © Conservation and Society Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow and supported by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, on behalf of an informal alliance of natural & social scientists New site online since 25th June, 2009	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line523
__label__cc	0.65711	0.34289	Uncanny X-Men Cosplay: Psylocke (Linda Le) Cosplay 10 MAR 2013 The beautiful and deadly psychic ninja Psylocke is brought to life by popular cosplay and gamer girl Linda Le, probably best known by her online handle, Vampy! Over the years various writers have certainly put her character through the wringer, but at the start of it all, creator Chris Claremont’s precognitive ninja played supporting character to her fraternal twin brother, Captain Britain, even substituting every now and then for him. Later on she became the mutant superheroine Psylocke, who developed telepathic abilities and then later acquired Jean’s Grey’s telekinesis. Known for her psychic blades, Psylocke is nevertheless a warrior who can really get into your head! In her most recent outing, following the aftermath of Second Coming, Psylocke (along with Deadpool, Fantomex, and Archangel) is selected by Wolverine to be a member of the new X-Force, the sole condition being that no one must learn of the team’s existence. Psylocke has been seen using her telepathy to help Warren control the “Archangel” persona in his mind, which has led to the two rekindling their previous relationship. The team’s first mission is to locate and kill Apocalypse, who has been reborn. After the events of SCHISM, while Psylocke has decided to stay on Utopia with Cyclops’ team, she also secretly stays on X-Force to help whenever Wolverine requests. Cyclops also places Psylocke in charge of a new X-Men Security team, asking her to be his spy and spy-hunter. During the Dark Angel Saga, the Jean Grey of the Age of Apocalypse universe opened up Psylocke’s mind, allowing her to tap into a previously untapped power. Writer Rick Remender confirms that Psylocke is now an Omega Level telepath. She also willingly gives up her capability to feel sorrow and regret as part of a bargain to save Fantomex from death at the hands of Skinlessman. Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psylocke Sunday 10/03/2013 Cosplaybabe, betsy braddock, character, Cosplay, cosplayer, linda le, ninja, psychic blades, psylocke, telepathy, uncanny x-force, vampy, x-menCraig Lotter About Craig Lotter Software developer, husband and dad to two little girls. Writer behind An Exploring South African. I don't have time for myself any more. View all posts by Craig Lotter → ← John Tyler Christopher: Witchblade #161 Cover (2012) And the House is almost Transformed! →	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line528
__label__wiki	0.751099	0.751099	Home Reviews Extras Forums Anime Review Text Editorials Staff Pages Review Menu #-F Sorted by Rating If It's For My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord Teasing Master Takagi-San 2 AKA: エウレカセブンAO ; Kokyoshihen Eureka Sebun AO Genre: Mecha Sci-Fi Length: Television series, 25 episodes, 25 minutes each Distributor: Currently licensed by FUNimation. Content Rating: PG-13 (Mild fanservice, violence.) Related Series: Six manga adaptations, 3 video games, a light novel, and a 2009 film, Pocketful of Rainbows; Eureka Seven: Goodnight, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers (OVA); plus the original series (50 episodes) Also Recommended: Eureka Seven (original series), Neon Genesis Evangelion Eureka Seven AO (Astral Ocean) Ao Fukai is a teenage boy growing up in Okinawa- an Okinawa that has become an independent nation thanks in part to a particular unnatural resource. Through a chance series of events he winds up the pilot of the Nirvash, an IFO (mecha) that originally belonged to Ao's mom. His quest to discover more about his past- and the present world, which seems dominated by the twin threats of Scub Corals, and mysterious automata called Secrets- leads him to join Generation Bleu, an internationally-staffed group of mecha flyers targeting the Secrets for destruction. "There are no absolutes anymore"- Ao Fukai And THAT is the major problem with this installment of the saga. Storytelling generally tries to impart some logic on the apparent chaos of reality (as science also tries to, though quantum physics DOES concede a bit to the chaos), while Astral Ocean largely just surrenders to chaos. To illustrate, I'll start where the series starts, in its setting. You may recall that the original series featured a world ravaged by Scub Corals, with the humans mostly living under a military dictatorship. Sky-surfing using Trapars (antigravity particles released by the Scubs) was nevertheless a common pastime. The world of Astral Ocean, by contrast, seems merely a near-future version of our own, geopolitically- all the major players we are familiar with (including Japan and the U.S.) are there. (The U.S. gets portrayed as a bit of a "heavy", by the way.) There are a few interesting exceptions- Okinawa, as noted, is an independent state; while only certain mecha still sky-surf, flying cars are in some use; and, strangest of all, Scub Corals (and their enemies, the Secrets) have been showing up for hundreds of years. Frankly, it's hard to understand how a world under alien attack for hundreds of years could have grown to look anything at all like ours in its geopolitical structure. And how does Eureka's son fit into all this? (NOT really a spoiler; we're pretty much shown Ao's background from the beginning, and the connection is formally confirmed within the first few episodes.) Then there's the business of the Secrets. In THIS world, the appearance of Scub Corals is accompanied by the appearance of the Secrets, giant, somewhat featureless flying machines that take a variety of overall forms. (One of them resembles an amusement-park ride, of all things.) They reminded me of Evangelion's Angels to an uncomfortable degree; this installment of Eureka is less original than the first one in many ways. The Secrets seem to want to destroy the Scubs (immolating themselves in the process), but they always cause tremendous collateral damage to humans and property in the process, and some of that might actually not be unintentional. As to their origin, we're just told that they appeared "in time" as some kind of response to the coming of the Scubs, an "explanation" that is exactly the same hand-waving used to account for the monsters in This Ugly Yet Beautiful World. Really, this sort of excuse simply doesn't pass muster as good Sci-Fi. In any event, much of the show is occupied with the question of which one the humans should back- the Scubs or the Secrets? The default position that has been adopted (especially by Generation Bleu) is to destroy the Secrets. (Gen Bleu at the same time quietly takes action to render the Scubs impotent, but this creates even greater problems further down the line- it's always SOMETHING, as they say.) Ao's turncoat girlfriend Naru (I may have more to say about her later) is a Scub-fan, and urges Ao to help the Scubs. On the other hand, Eureka herself, when she finally DOES appear (and in a couple of different versions; didn't I SAY it was confusing?), tells Ao that the Scubs are the enemies, which seems a little weird for her to say given her OWN background. Explanations for all this are sometimes offered, but those explanations get endlessly amended as new developments constantly pop up, and if our cast winds up completely confused and uncertain what to do, I can't criticize them; I can only sympathize. The characters this time around seem awfully weak- there are no equivalents to the marvelous process of self-realization (and self-esteem recovery) that Talho went through in the original series, nor is there anyone here that quite captures the maniacal-yet-pathetic quality that Anemone had. The show HAS a major villain, who simply calls himself Truth, though given his own origin (from two warring parties, plus the ideology of a third), he really should be called Confusion, or, more accurately, Madness. Ao himself seems a much more cynical male lead than Renton was, though he does have an obsession with two females- his "missing" mom, and Naru, that aforementioned traitor who was his close friend in Okinawa. (He SERIOUSLY needs to get over her, by the way.) Ao becomes friends with his two fellow Generation Bleu mecha pilots, Fleur Blanc and Elena Peoples. Fleur is the daughter of Generation Bleu's CEO; she hates her dad for something OTHER daughters might be grateful for. (Go figure.) Elena is an apparent airheaded otaku; we're given some background info on her that indicates there's more to her than that, but it's told in such an inept manner that her past basically comes across as a few giant puzzle pieces that don't really fit together, and all I could be certain of is that "Elena Peoples" is NOT her real name. I NEVER understood why she imagined she was connected to a certain other character, for example. But hey, given the chaotic nature of everything here, maybe she IS, somehow. Astral Ocean has, behind and beneath all this, certain concepts familiar to readers of science fiction, but to make this sort of story work you need a kind of logical discipline that the show lacks. An author like Isaac Asimov could have made all this work just fine, but the show's creators aren't in that league. At the end, I pondered the same thing I did for that poor guy at the end of the movie The Quiet Earth- "What happens NOW?". And for some of the same reasons. Weak characters and an uncontrolled storyline do NOT an epic make. Nor do contradictions and excessive complications.The OVA included in the DVD package really adds nothing but Ao dressed as a girl, if you're curious. In his Mom's outfit, apparently. I guess he kept it. — Allen Moody Recommended Audience: Mild fanservice involving Elena and Fleur. Quite a bit of mecha combat, of course, but even less explicit violence than the original series had. Version(s) Viewed: R1 DVD Review Status: Full (25/25) Eureka Seven AO (Astral Ocean) © 2012 Bones © 1996-2015 THEM Anime Reviews. All rights reserved.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line538
__label__cc	0.727019	0.272981	A few initial short thoughts on the murder of the Russian Ambassador to Ankara 94937 Views December 20, 2016 259 Comments Saker Analyses and Interviews The Saker Okay, so tonight we have the name of the assassin, it is Mevlut Mert Aydintas, a 22 year old policeman who had been recently fired following the anti-Gulenist crackdown of Erdogan against the forces which had attempted to overthrow him recently. We also have a very useful video of the murder. That video of the attack also shows something very important: the only shots fired are those fired by the assassin. See for yourself: What this means is one of two things: Version 1: there was nobody in charge of security at this exhibition Version 2: the room where this murder happened was considered ‘safe/sterile’ because it was inside an outer security perimeter which we don’t see in this video. I find version 2 far more likely. That would also explain why and how Mevlut Mert Aydintas so easily got it: he simply flashed his police ID and was let through. When such an event occurs it is also important to ask cui bono – whom does it benefit? Erdogan? No. I see absolutely no imaginable reason why Erdogan would want the Russian Ambassador murdered in Ankara, but I can easily imagine a long list of reasons why he would not want that to happen at all. Some will correctly say that the fall of Aleppo is a humiliating defeat for Turkey and Erdogan, and I agree. But I would remind everybody that Erdogan clearly had a deal going with the Russians and the Iranians when he moved his forces across the border and occupied northern Syria. There is no way he would have risked such a move against the will of Moscow and Tehran. So what was this deal? We will probably never know, but it clearly included a provision which limited Turkey’s actions to a narrow strip in the north. If that hypothesis is correct, then Aleppo would have to be considered outside the “Turkish sphere of interest” in Syria, at least by the tripartite Turkish-Iranian-Russian understanding. Did Erdogan know that Aleppo would fall and would fall so fast? Probably not. It appears that Erdogan got outmaneuvered by the Russians and the Iranians. But he most definitely had better options to retaliate against the liberation of Aleppo than to have the Russian Ambassador murdered in Ankara. The fact is that the Turks did precious little when Aleppo was liberated, at most they helped the Russian evacuate part of the “good terrorists”. Even if Erdogan is a lunatic, he is smart enough to understand that if he has the Russian Ambassador murdered in Ankara NATO will do nothing to protect him and that the Russians can fire a cruise missile right into his bedroom window. Erdogan might be crazy, but he is clearly not that crazy. Finally, let’s remember the disastrous consequences for Turkey following the shooting down of the Russian SU-24 and the fact that, by numerous corroborated accounts, the Russian intelligences services saved Erdogan, probably literally, by warning him of the coup against him. So, for all these reasons, Erdogan is not on my current list of suspects. Never say never, new facts might come to light, especially with a maniac like Erdogan, but right now I will assume that he has nothing to do with what happened. Daesh & Co? Maybe. Well, it is rather obvious that the Daesh & Co. had an extremely long list of reasons to want to kill a high profile Russian official. So yes, they sure had the motive. Considering how successful radical Islamist extremists have been at penetrating the Turkish deep (and not so deep) state, Daesh and Co. also had the means. As for the opportunity, the video above clearly shows that not only did Mevlut Mert Aydintas have the time to shoot the Russian Ambassador many times (I counted 9 shots), but after that he still had the time to just stand there and scream all sorts of slogans about Syria, Aleppo and God. While we don’t know all the details yet, this is already very strong evidence that security at this event was dismal. Gulen, the CIA, Obama & Co? Maybe. Yes, they are also on my list of suspects. The Gulenists have nothing to lose, the CIA has gone crazy with anger and fear at the election of Trump, and the Obama Administration is full of angry, offended, deeply vindicative and otherwise plain nasty characters who would love to trigger a new crisis between Russia and Turkey or make the Russian pay in some way for humiliating the AngloZionist Empire in Aleppo. Keep in mind that this is exactly how the CIA always kills foreign dignitaries: by subcontracting the murder to a local fanatic so as to preserve what they call “plausible deniability”. During the Cold War the Soviets and the Americans had an unwritten understanding that “we don’t kill each other”. It was never formally mentioned or otherwise acknowledged, but I assure you that it was real: neither side wanted an open ended escalation of assassinations and counter-assassinations. But today’s CIA is a pathetic joke compared to the CIA of the Cold War, and with hodge-podge of mediocre dimwits now in the Executive branch I would not put it past some idiot in Langley to approve of the murder of a Russian Ambassador. Besides, if the Americans were crazy and reckless enough to attempt to overthrow Erdogan, why would they not try to murder a Russian Ambassador? What about the lone gunman hypothesis? Well, it is impossible to prove a negative. Mevlut Mert Aydintas did lose his job in a recent purge, he did have police credentials and his actions on the video seem to be a textbook example of the kind of fanatical behavior a lone nutcase would display. So yes, it is possible that Mevlut Mert Aydintas acted alone. After all, all he needed was a gun and a police ID. Let’s see what the Turks, and the Russians, find out about him. Still, I doubt it. That kind of personality is usually identified by state sponsoring terrorism and then activated when needed. My gut tells me that he did not just act alone. Somebody probably used Mevlut Mert Aydintas. Painful questions Here I really hope that I am wrong, but if I want to be honest I have to admit that I am completely unable to find an excuse of the lax security around Ambassador Andrey Karlov. And I am not referring to the Turks here, I am referring to the Russian security services. Here is why. Even if we assume that the Turks had told the Russians that they had established a ‘safe/sterile’ perimeter around the exhibit and that the general public would not be let in, the footage shows what appears to be only a few guests, there is no excuse for the Russian not to have at least one bodyguard in the immediate proximity to the Ambassador. Turkey is not only a country at war, but Russia is a party to that war, the Takfiris have made a very long list of threats against Russia and, finally, Turkey is a country which has suffered from terrorism for years and which has just suffered a bloody attempted coup. In a country like that a top official like an Ambassador should have been protected by an entire group of bodyguards, but in this case there was clearly nobody. Oh sure, the Russian can blame the Turks for having set up a crappy perimeter, but as professionals they should know that the Turks are already having extreme difficulties in dealing with their own terrorists and that following the massive purges the security services are in a state of chaos. Would one bodyguard have made a difference? Yes, possibly. Probably in fact. From the video it appears that Mevlut Mert Aydintas was standing about 5 meter behind Ambassador Karlov when he opened fire. Apparently, not a single of the shots hit the Ambassador’s head. If Ambassador Karlov had been wearing a flack jacket or any other type of body armor he would have probably survived that first volley of bullets (unless one hit the cervicals). One single bodyguard could then have easily killed Mevlut Mert Aydintas and evacuated the ambassador to safety. Evidently Karlov was not wearing any kind of body armor that day. Why? He did not have a single bodyguard next to him. Why? No Russian voices are heard on the video, so there appears to have been no Russian security anywhere near the ambassador. Why? Normally, ambassadors are a very easy target. Everybody knows them, their routine is public and, contrary to what many seem to think, most of them have no security detail. I am absolutely amazed that more ambassadors are not killed regularly. In high risk countries, however, ambassadors are normally protected, especially ambassadors representing countries involved in a war or who are likely targets of terrorist attacks. True, as a rule, the Russians, including diplomats, tend to be more brave/reckless (pick the term) than their western counterparts: they don’t scare easy and they like to show that they are not afraid. But that kind of attitude needs to be kept in check by professionals. Frankly, it makes me angry to see how many Russians have been killed by that lax attitude towards personal risk and security. Yes, it is very noble to be courageous, but to die killed by a manic is also plain dumb. I would feel much better if Russian officials and politicians would be a little less courageous and a little more careful. Because what happened today begs the question: who will it be the next time? What happened today is a tragedy made twice as painful by the fact that it could probably have been avoided. The Turkish security services will probably arrest overnight pretty much anybody and everybody Mevlut Mert Aydintas has ever met, and they will get lots of confessions. I am pretty sure that they will share a lot of that data with the Russians, if only to show how sorry they are. Alas, both the Turks and the Russians have an long tradition of secrecy and we might never find out who, if anybody, really was behind Mevlut Mert Aydintas. The only thing I am sure of is that Putin will do nothing harsh regardless of who is behind this murder. If it is the Takfiris, then the people involved will die in the next couple of years. If the CIA is involved, however, the Russians will be much more careful and might chose to act in a very different way, possibly through the next Administration. The murder of Ambassador Karlov will not succeed in derailing the Russian and Iranian efforts at getting some kind of a regional solution to the war in Syria, nor will it change the Russian determination to prevent the AngloZionst Empire of turning Syrian into yet another Takfiristan. As for Russia and Turkey, as long as Erdogan remains in power they will continue to try to collaborate against the odds and in spite of deep and fundamental differences. Neither Russia nor Turkey, which have fought each other in twelve wars, have any other option. James lake on December 20, 2016 · at 4:12 am EST/EDT The cameraman filming this obviously murder, did not fear for his life, he just focussed on getting the best pictures!!! not necessarily, he was using a tripod and autofocus. he probably ran and left the camera turning This is what leads me to believe it was Turkey that did it – they are supporting jihadists to over throw Assad. The policy hasn’t changed! Turkey gave weapons, medical care to Alnusra and many supporters live in Turkey. The were protesting the other day Erdogan base of support is these jihadis. He is not rational and this was his sick attempt to derail peace talks – he doesn’t want to be involved in peace talks in Syria – his radical supporters don’t want him to either. He hoped Russia would break ties – but Russia was on the phone to Iran and turkey to keep peace talks in Kazakhstan on track. Russia are thinking of the big picture When the Russia investigators go to Turkey wait and see what help Turkey gives them. This will be a clue to their sincerity or evidence of their double dealing anon on December 20, 2016 · at 8:19 am EST/EDT Add to this a few more things. Synchronised protests in various European cities and on the Turkish border against Russian and Syrian conduct in Aleppo (which is fake news). Protesters are largely Turks. Then the UNSC vote on the evacuation of Aleppo (Syrian UN ambassador complained it was about getting foreign operatives out of the area). Then the apologist talking point in western media that has started to emerge re this shooting reflecting Turkish feeling about Aleppo. Penny on December 20, 2016 · at 12:54 pm EST/EDT nonsense- those protests were staged for the camera- In Turkey protests were real, not staged. Wanted to put this comment near the top: https://www.rt.com/news/371296-russian-ambassador-funeral-moscow/ Ambassador’s funeral with open casket. So for those disrespectful individuals claiming it was a flase flag and there was no blood etc. Here you are – he did die. Now show some respect to his family and friends who would just like to mourn his death with some dignity and peace. Just shows he’s a good cameraperson. I did a little bit of amatuer photography for street protests in the US in the early 2000’s. You do get to the point where you focus on getting the shot, getting the photo, and little else. Just my limited experience, but I suspect if you check if professional photographers and camerapeople, especially those who cover wars or other violent and quick moving situations, that you’ll hear the same from them. The one thing that struck me in what happened was how long the assassin had on the stage after he began shooting the ambassador. Not only long enough to fire multiple shots, but then long enough to stand there and shout slogans. These days, in an assasination, one seems to expect to see a much quicker response. Often an attacker only gets off one or two shots before being either wrestled to the ground or shot by security guards. No comment on what that means. Its just what struck me as unusual about this tragedy. Anonymous on December 20, 2016 · at 11:57 am EST/EDT Exactly my thoughts. And I agree with Saker about lack of security. Lack of security by Russians. You don’t have your top diplomat in a country such as Turkey without at least one bodyguard on duty all the time. Extremely irresponsible. GoraKoshka on December 21, 2016 · at 2:44 am EST/EDT I was also struck by the length of time the assassin had to spew out whatever he wanted. Does not make sense. I agree with Saker that the lack of security is just baffling. I’ve been to similar events (in countries at peace) and there is always some security around the ambassadors. To leave Amb. Karlov completely exposed is just bizarre – particularly given the whole war situation. Do not think Erd. had much to gain by this murder – and he’d certainly not do it in Ankara (if he were inclined to do it). But there may be some within Turkey, who would try to undermine Erd. (or at least embarrass him). I also fault the Russian secret service – they should know by no that Turkey is the epitome of “the weakest link,” and anything can happen there. When will the Russians finally learn to expect only the worst from their so-called partners? According to the latest news – the murderer refused to go through the x-ray and showed a police ID & the security guards at this point let him through: https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612201048798666-karlov-xra-y-security/ blue on December 20, 2016 · at 4:29 am EST/EDT An observation on the timing and possible narrative, but not a conclusion: This occurred on the day which it was apparent that Trump would get the vote of the electoral college, ending hope that the Clintonians/neocons-libs would stay in power, so if there were to be an attack on Russia ans a breakup between Russia and Turkey there would no longer be a path within official actions, so those plans would be abandoned. Partisan of Ali on December 20, 2016 · at 4:40 am EST/EDT I get this feeling, that the question needs to be asked, not who benefited from this move, but who it satisfies or pleases? Even if erdogan is not behind this, in his heart he must be happy, calling it blow back. This may be true of all these sympathisers of these fanatics. For erdogan, It’s like that feeling of wanting to steal, but not wanting to be caught doing it, absence of guilt. It happened on his (erdogan’s) watch. He’s responsible. Putin’s response was cool. No finger pointing, no anger, very cool. Even though this is an attack on him just as much as his ambassador. His response is much scarier, cause hell will probably follow for those that did it. I felt sad for the ambassador. You just have to look at their faces to see who is decent and who isn’t. The ambassador looks like a gentleman, a statesman even, and the assassin looks demented. A lot of bad things happen when ambassadors die, a 100 years ago it started ww1, a thousand years ago it destroyed the Sunni Khalifat when hulegus hordes stuffed the fleeing, living caliph in a donkey hide and ran horses over him. My condolences to all the ambassador ‘ s loveded ones, all his well wishes, all Russians, and my prayers for him. May Allah reward the ambassador and condemn the killer. Jim of Olym on December 21, 2016 · at 5:44 am EST/EDT Look at the pics of the Ambassador’s wife, at the transfer of his body! May he, Andrei, rest in peace and may his memory be eternat, and may his poor widow be comforted! Just saw a pic of President Putin where he’s looking at the casket of his Excellency, Ambassador Andrei, and then I read this quote: You are part of me, nay you are all of me What hurts you, hurts me What kills you, kills me —-Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as) For those that die in Allah’s way, there is only honour and glory and a great reward. Allah’s la’anat on all these takfiris, and all their sponsors, and may people who are misled by their lies, begin to see the truth I wish there was more I could do to let the Russian people in general and the ambassador’s family in particular know that we are humbled by their sacrifices, and honour them as we would honour our martyrs vot tak on December 20, 2016 · at 4:43 am EST/EDT Well obama just threatened Russia on Friday and talks about working out a Syrian strategy between Russia, Iran and turkey in Kazakhstan were about to start – tomorrow, the 20th, I believes. Those are the 2 main reasons I think the zionazis killed the man. Revenge and an attempt to drive a wedge between Russia and turkey. Sheeplespotter on December 20, 2016 · at 1:41 pm EST/EDT Did NOT Obama say “we will retaliate at a time and place of our choosing”? Orchid on December 20, 2016 · at 4:28 pm EST/EDT Indeed he did. chimmy on December 20, 2016 · at 6:48 pm EST/EDT So did butt-hurt Biden. Jeffrey Coley on December 21, 2016 · at 3:12 am EST/EDT I think the CIA/Obama angle is a little far-fetched. They aren’t that clever. It is however indisputable that Obama is spitefully poisoning as many wells as possible before he leaves office. As humiliating as Trump’s victory is for Obama it will be more humiliating for Trump to achieve success in foreign policy that eluded The One. Barack Obama has been utterly repudiated by the American people. Now, like a bad tenant served with eviction papers, he is kicking holes in the walls and ripping out plumbing fixtures before he leaves. Franz on December 21, 2016 · at 8:27 pm EST/EDT It takes little ‘cleverness’ to kill. “The Jews are good at tearing things down, but not good at building them up.” – Martin Buber. Cosimo on December 19, 2019 · at 7:35 pm EST/EDT This Buber quote appears to be fake. It doesn’t show up on a web search of even just the abbreviated, “The Jews are good at tearing things down but” Google, Yandex and DuckDuckGo all show only this comment, but today’s same comment by “PrideOfMammon” on Zerohedge will become the second result. Same Person ? An un-sourced quote like this, claiming to be from a widely published rabbi known, AFAIK, to not have been rabid, supposedly making a broad swipe at all Jews, deserves .. may I say … contempt ? In general, if you are going to quote someone, you should first verify the quote. Like US President Abraham Lincoln once said, “Over half the quotes you see on the internet are fake !” Student of time on December 20, 2016 · at 4:53 am EST/EDT Welcome to Zionist infidel wahabi turkey…. Now try to feel what and how Kurdistan has to deal with turks or with their handlers in langley and DON’T YOU (edited MOD) bring the southern kurdistan/iraqi kurdistan example as Kurds are Zionists….. If you do, forget you ! This is the Muslim Kurd who have been telling and telling and the world tells us kurdistan is a Zionist project not a Victim of Zionists , which it is… We understand the smart play of Russia to prevent WW3 but sometimes fight is unavoidable and has to happen … I will not let 5 kurdish,palestinian babies to be victims so that we can save1 million russian babies… A life is a life.. We are used to this kind of high level betrayals… Biji Islam, kurdistan , russia, armenia Singh on December 20, 2016 · at 6:21 am EST/EDT Once you were an Aryan with Armenia. Today you are both pathetic & sad examples of your past glory. J on December 20, 2016 · at 8:13 am EST/EDT I hope you and others did not skip the last sentence of the sakers article: “Neither Russia nor Turkey, which have fought each other in twelve wars, have any other option.” It written with centuries agonizing experience of killing and being killed. Russia is in much peril place than you think. Had it be in early 20th century and before, Russia would have been taking advantage of with western border and century asia border right now, and would have been in all out fight for survival. Of cause, had it were that time, it would be unimaginable for russia to send so many fire power into Syria either. War has no winner, especial when you already fight one, and the other has way to fight back, effectively. Kurdistan is a zionist project- Kurdistan is a NATO project Kurdistan is not a Kurdish project- Unless you believe the PKK represents all Kurds? I don’t happen to believe that. TMA on December 22, 2016 · at 2:20 am EST/EDT Kurdistan is a Kurdish project. As well as a Zionist project. The Kurds ns Iraq and elsewhere have been oppressed/marginalized (historically) and Zionist NATO (& Imposter Israel) is exploiting this fact to the nth degree. I have met many Kurds from Iraq who support Kurdistan; they may or may not know they are being exploited by Zionist NATO interests. Realist on March 16, 2017 · at 12:50 pm EST/EDT Have read that the Kurds are being used by Zionists and U.S against Syrians, Iraqis and even non-Muslims. They have promised them for the creation of Kurdish state (lands from Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran). They have become both part of the solution and problem, more a problem. For now they are being protected by the Zionists and U.S.. This can only benefit Israel and U.S and not even the Kurds which they have to fight all these 4 countries to create a state. Its only realistic for the Kurds to fight the foreign terrorists that is invading their nations. Uncle Bob 1 on December 20, 2016 · at 4:54 am EST/EDT I agree that Erdogan had nothing to gain.And a lot to lose by being behind the murder. But I don’t think the killer was an “ex-policeman”. Earlier both the Turks and Russians said he was a policeman. And had he been fired over the coup,or any other reason. Its almost a certainty they would have taken his badge and police credentials from him when they fired him.If not,they would be different than most any other police force. I suspect the Turks are now, after becoming calmer,and thinking about it, trying to backtrack. And claim he was an “ex” to distance the regime further from him. Since he seems to have been an Islamist (from his words). We know from many reports about how deeply the Islamist ideology has infected many in Turkey. Especially members of Erdogan’s own party and security services. I’d think it more likely he was one of those who “went rogue”.Whether on his own,or with others is as yet unknown. I also agree with you about the lack of security. At least from now forward Russia needs to up their security for their officials. Don’t accept that the “host country” will do that for them. This kind of situation shows that doesn’t always work out.As you said,if he had a Russian guard with him (and body armor) this might have been an “attempted” assassination and not a successful assassination. He is an islamist from his words? I should hope you are not refering to his words ”Allahu Alkbar”, Mossad agents shout ”Allahu Akbar” all the time to frame muslims. I would consider the question of who equiped him to walk in freely, this is a CIA/Mossad dirty work. WizOz on December 20, 2016 · at 10:57 am EST/EDT It happens nevertheless that Mossad/CIA agents happen to be Islamists. Dupes, of course, easily to work up into righteous rage. The idea that a Muslim CIA/Mossad agent commits suicide in order to ‘frame’ Muslims to give them a bad name is beyond ridiculous. TooLegit2Quit on December 21, 2016 · at 9:44 am EST/EDT @ WizOz: “[..] The idea that a Muslim CIA/Mossad agent commits suicide in order to ‘frame’ Muslims to give them a bad name is beyond ridiculous.” But then again, maybe you haven’t been indoctrinated enough… you might be needing to be send to one of them ‘liberal’ re-education interment camps… in order for you to learn this mantra: https://s23.postimg.org/lz3uppvsr/Tyred_of_islam.jpg -TL2Q Wrong Wiz. The hit-men do not need to be told what they are hitting or why. They just need a target and a tiny bit of help. Who knows what ‘compromat’ (compromising materials) the Anglo-Zionist Empire has on them. And ‘compromat’ is half the job of the NSA and 19 other US ‘intelligence’ [sic] agencies. Perhaps the threat of a family, mother, being liquidated is enough. In any event your argument is primitive. Mike on December 20, 2016 · at 7:20 pm EST/EDT I think so too And Berlin as well Jaro on December 20, 2016 · at 10:41 am EST/EDT Isnt it standard, pretty much every where for you to have to turn in your “badge and gun” if you’ve been suspended -let alone dismissed from the police force? And why was he automatically given access to the event by just flashing a badge? Why was he not subjected to a body search? Are we to believe that security at the event was so lax, that guests were not searched or screened? I am trying to be objective about all this, but the whole damn thing just seem very ”fishy” to me. Turkey is awashed with takfiri terrorists and their sympathizers, and Russia is at war with these people next-door in Syria. Why then was the Russian ambassador who is in the middle of all this not adequately protected by Russian security operatives? The current Turkish leader is nototious for his treachery and double-dealing and equivocations. I know the Kremlin holds its nose and deal with him because it is the practical thing to do, but in doing so it cannot let down its guard for 1 single second. As I said earlier, Russia is at war with Jihadists and their supporters. Accordingly, its personnel and property worldwide -but especially in these sensitive places – should receive a level of protection that is commensurate with the threats emanating from this state of affairs. Penny on December 20, 2016 · at 1:13 pm EST/EDT Uncle Bob say’s Erdogan didn’t do it- but then infers Erdogan did over and over??? “I agree that Erdogan had nothing to gain” but then Islamists in Erdogan’s party. Islamists in his security service- All alluding to Erdogan being responsible “Earlier both the Turks and Russians said he was a policeman” Incorrect- Clearly and early it was reported he was an ex police officer as for ID??? Let’s see all those dead police officers thanks to the PKK … could ID have been stolen- entirely possible- including from the most recent attack? Like a broken record So many other players to consider… Uncle Bob 1 on December 20, 2016 · at 5:16 pm EST/EDT You need to let RT know about all your knowledge on the attacker. Since today in just one story alone they “once again” say the attacker was a Turkish police officer. “Condemnations of the assassination and words of condolences have been pouring in from around the world since a Turkish riot police officer shot Ambassador Andrey Karlov to death in Ankara on Monday.” “Karlov was shot dead as he was speaking at the opening of an exhibition called ‘Russia in the Eyes of Turks’ at an art gallery in Ankara. The gunman has been identified as 22-year-old Mevlut Altintas, a member of Ankara’s riot police force.” Believe it or not,there are elements inside a regime that sometimes go rogue. We are seeing some of them today in the US. As I said I don’t believe Erdogan was behind the attack. But I do think that the “climate” of tolerance for jihadi terrorism he has allowed in Turkey.Spawned the attacker,and others like him to be created. juliania on December 20, 2016 · at 8:00 pm EST/EDT I thank you, Uncle Bob 1 for giving the first name of the Ambassador, Andrei. So often we find out the assassin’s full name, but it is not he that I wish to pray for, and in prayer we need the first name only. The name I wish to see repeated, so I will remember it, is that of Andrei Karlov. He looked like a good man, in the photos I’ve seen. He must have been to have accepted such a dangerous position. My sympathy to his family and loved ones, as Donald Trump has said. I lit a candle for the newly departed Andrei at our pre-Nativity vespers tonight. May his memory be eternal! Could you provide a link for that? Like this? http://tass.com/world/920640 Killer of Russia’s ambassador fired from police after July’s failed coup in Turkey — media “Mevlut Mert Altintas, a former office of the Turkish police who was fired from the forces of law and order in the course of investigation of the July 15 abortive putsch” There are claims of reinstatement going around- but where did they originate? I don’t know?- you have some attribution or is it just gossip Cause without some serious attribution it’s just more gossip and there is plenty of that going around regarding this incident one more for the records http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/U.S.-Denies-Involvement-in-Russian-Ambassadors-Murder-20161221-0010.html “On Monday, 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, a former member of Ankara’s riot police” be sure to let RT know of two alternative sources? TASS and Telesur I do not know if Erdogan is involved in this, but I think he/ Turkey has what to gain from the assasination of the Russian embassador. See, Russia lately is under the threat to loose the passage into the Mediteranean see via the straits by the West and that would be achieved by driving a wedge between Russia and Turkey. But Turkey can raise the bar and bargain with Russia (gaz, nuclear price etc) if Turkey stages this even before the West and present it as West’s doing. @Uncle Bob I feel like I’ve seen recent reports that said he had been suspended/dismissed from the police for Gulenist leanings after the assasination attempt. But that he had been recently reinstated. That would explain why he had the badge. jiri on December 20, 2016 · at 4:55 am EST/EDT “…. at a time and place of our choosing” Said recently by both the President and vice president of the US with regard to what Russia has apparently done. Co-incidence? Maybe, maybe not.. SHAFAR NULLIFIDIAN on December 21, 2016 · at 5:05 am EST/EDT Re: “…with regard to what Russia has apparently done.” “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It what you know for certain that just ain’t so.” teranam13 on December 20, 2016 · at 5:11 am EST/EDT The best revenge is success. Here is an interesting analysis of the military situation around Aleppo and the next moves for the alliance of forces helping Syria. There is a deep evil around the political elite still in power for another month in Washington D.C.—petty and spiteful. I would not under estimate their desire to get their licks in before there time to go . https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/comes-next-aleppo/ Michael Collins on December 20, 2016 · at 4:53 pm EST/EDT True about those leaving power but the evil ascending is just as great. For now, Trump has a sane and rational policy toward Russia and a world conflict. That will last until he gets the word from on high. He will then follow orders. As for the rest of his policies, they are an abomination, beyond bad. I hope he lasts just long enough to get some serious US-Russia cooperation in place. mikhas on December 20, 2016 · at 5:12 am EST/EDT Erdogan is constantly trying to push his luck and he constantly has to be reminded by the Russians about their deal in Northern Syria, last time to the cost of a few turkish soldiers near al-Bab. The fact that more than 80% of the Turks support isis and maniacs like these and constantly are being subject to more jihadists indoctrination by Erdogan speaks volumes. And it’s very convenient for him to pull Gulen out of his ass everytime something happens for how long can he do that? 0You don’t turn around thinking that everything is OK with these people or you get stabbed in the back at the first best opportunity. CIA? Yes more than probably and getting a Turkish hothead to do it is as easy as getting proxies to do their dirty work in Syria. ”The fact that more than 80% of the Turks support isis and maniacs like these” source please? It is always amusing to read from the extreme/fanatic/radical crazies, when they accuse everybody else of extremism, radicalism and fanaticism. Just look in the nearest mirror and see your nightmares! Thiamin on December 20, 2016 · at 5:16 am EST/EDT I am amazed with the fact that a police officer was used. How do you protect from that? Even if you had 20 bodyguards, the guy could have just used a bomb. Or they could have planted the bomb in the museum and killed everyone inside. The people that created all those terrorists and carried out 9-11 are not playing by the rules. It is my belief that we are all hostages and the power that be are trying to negotiate who will rule the hostages. A bit like that battle of Aleppo. I mean personally, I feel I am surrounded by stupid people who believe all the nonsensical propaganda that comes out of their tv. If I was Putin, I would nuke Canada and be done with it. Thankfully, he seems to have a better plan. SanctuaryOne on December 20, 2016 · at 6:25 am EST/EDT If it’s OK with you I’d prefer you didn’t encourage Putin to nuke Canada. I live in Canada and regret to say I would take it personally. Would make sense if you said to nuke Israel….why Canada? John on December 20, 2016 · at 3:18 pm EST/EDT Not Vancouver, please. Katherine on December 20, 2016 · at 9:25 pm EST/EDT Not Nova Scotia, please. Rick0Shea on December 21, 2016 · at 1:32 am EST/EDT Not southern Alberta plz Please don’t do Canada, BC Nova Scotia or any place in between! Then we won’t have any place to emigrate to, us poor slobovians from the lower ’48. We have to have somewhere to go up, or we will be annihilated! If we can be spared at the end. Thiamin on December 20, 2016 · at 4:16 pm EST/EDT Why Canada? Because that is where I live. Sometimes it makes me crazy to argue with canadians who believe everything they hear on Radio-Canada. It is governmental propaganda. They eat it up like it is candies. It drives me insane. I am sorry if my attitude is offensive. I just get irritated sometimes. Please Putin, dont listen to me. Keep on doing what you are doing. Even if I really dont understand what the plan is. Zico the musketeer on December 21, 2016 · at 7:21 pm EST/EDT You made me think here at Rio de Janeiro. IF Canada is like that with a less ignorant population…. That means that a good educational level makes no difference to the brainwash system. Said that, people used to think that a good education is the solution to everything. But not to brainwash … How to deal with that is still a mystery! We can win locally but never defeat the brainwash machine since is an unidentified force. That’s the main question. How to identify the group. It’s weakness is Bildemberg. But no one talks about this group in particular. I’m not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. You must identify the enemy! At least in the States, an ‘education’ is really just training to listen to and belief official sources and official versions of history. The people who don’t do that have largely renounced what they were taught to believe and the official sources they were taught to listen to. In such people, there’s usuallly one point in time or one event that teaches them that at least in one area that what they were taught is wrong and the official sources are incorrect. Then it goes from there and they begin to question everything. Perhaps a good education that does teach one to think and reason for oneself helps with this process, but for me the amount of ‘education’ a person has is really not strongly connected with their ability to question what they are being told. plainsman on December 24, 2016 · at 2:21 am EST/EDT Yes, of course, most “education”,.a word in which itself is a deceptive cover-all for indoctrination with universal reverence as “all good” is invoked as a qualifier for judgment and critical thinking. So X has a college degree in management or some such crap makes him more qualified to be respected than Joe. Joe might have learned some hard lessons on the street or barnyard that make him far better at analysis of tone and style and pattern. What you are driving at is to me the “threshold” of breaking from the matrix(a popular term these days), which brings opprobrium from peers, alienation, usually financial jeopardy, even fear of the police state. What we can only hope is the numbers in the general public will increase until “the rebel” is supported widely; then they can’t stop them. or us. Plainsman, I love the way you think. I would like to say that there is a spiritual component to this. A lot of the brainwashing is only possible by shutting down our spiritual connection to each other and to a higher power. To that end, we have more and more drugs in the health care industry and more chemicals in the water and food. This muddle the brain and render the human being incapable of rising above a certain level in his mental capacity. When someone becomes aware of this and spend time in silent contemplation and with proper diet and exercise. There are mental faculties that can become available. Lucid dreaming is one such possibility. Armed with this type of awareness, a rebel if you will, can not only break free from the matrix but also, get support from the force. I am going back to the star wars analogy. All that stand between us and this realization are the evil manipulation of the power that be. The empire I shall call them. George Bush once put it this way: this is a battle for the hearts and minds. Or if you read the bible: A battle against spiritual wickedness in the high places. Ephesians 6:12 Santiago on December 20, 2016 · at 5:29 am EST/EDT A lone gunman is almost never the case, they do exist, but they are not that capable, they are very visible even through crowds, this guy is clean cut and very composed, look at the trigger finger. A person that just murdered someone and is because of pure emotional and ideological reasons, would not take the finger of the trigger, specially when lifting the gun twice, and it does not matter his training, you can see it with cop shooting videos, most of the time, they do not put the finger on the trigger guard after shooting. But it could be. My gut goes with who has more to gain if the reaction intended by Russia or Turkey would have been what they were expecting or hoping for. This is no retaliation by supposed hacks, they know that the Russia Hacking is a false narrative, but they also know that many of them do not have a lot of time left to try and push their agenda, so do not be amazed if more attempts, false flags and terrorist actions come in the next months. Saker, the moment I can donate, I will, your site is a fountain of valuable information, and I want it to continue that way, sadly I have been unable to do so, but you are at the top of my list. Merry Christmas to all readers and the Saker team and contributors. Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico I think being in America for long time, you forget few things. 1. Being armed is seen as bad or less civilized due to Anglo influence on diplomatic relations in most of old world Ie it’s polite to walk as if nothing is problem in cosmopolitan big city Why disrupt culture of polite gentry with protection to ambassador who is not on top level posting Ie due to history of wars it’s likely that diplomacy with Turkey is not viewed with same urgentness or priority as say Germany or China due 2 economics & Arguably although this has spread past diplomacy in India Meaning overall a low profile assignment in a country with whom you have tensions means you don’t want to up those tensions by posting bodyguards Ie you want to keep the war outside, in the 5 star hotels of elite & diplomats there’s not a war outside & we should carry on as if nothing. Russian attitudes toward safety, as you said only exacerbate these issues. This sort of cultural lapse in countries where exceptionalism is not routinely enforced like in USA is common. Meaning your country is old enough that you see a long past & future for it. You kind of chill because you’re not some 2 century old America trying to find its manhood among the great empires of the world. Sorry, but I would regard Turkey as a top level posting. Any place that dangerous and so near Russia and the troubles ongoing with terrorists is top level. Singh on December 21, 2016 · at 10:16 am EST/EDT Typical of woman to regard safety as top priority।। No, Turkey in terms of its overall Geo-economic value is tier 2 now compared to relations with Other Poles।।Already came out that it was international politeness that prevented Russian bodyguards।।So was part right but do see your safety angle।। Peter AU on December 20, 2016 · at 6:25 am EST/EDT Around the third or fourth shot, he is hit low in the neck, so doubtful a vest would have saved him. He may well have been wearing one. A bodyguard would have been watching the man behind him like a hawk and may have taken him out before he got a shot off. Crazy Russians. Missing that prerequisite instinct for survival – fear. Men like him and the rest of the Russian leadership stand head and shoulders above the small vindictive types like Obama. WizOz on December 20, 2016 · at 6:29 am EST/EDT Many political figures have been assassinated by their own bodyguards. A photo published by the Daily Mail shows “Altintas, pictured left, stood behind Ambassador Karlov, centre, as he began his speech”, looking like a bodyguard. “The assassin who gunned down Russia’s ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov has been identified as a 22-year-old undercover police officer… Turkish officials claim Altintas was off-duty at the time of the assassination.” Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4049400/The-undercover-cop-assassin-special-forces-officer-22-gunned-Russian-ambassador-meant-protect.html#ixzz4TMBzYVfn A ‘lone wolf’? Immediately the ‘Grey Wolfs’ come to mind. Remember Ali Agca, the ‘lone wolf’ who attempted to kill Pope John Paul II. Yahoo!!! wizoz- when my comment get’s through, I too mentioned NATO’s Grey Wolf’s and the assassination of the Pope- so many possibilities to consider WizOz on December 20, 2016 · at 11:06 pm EST/EDT It looks that we glide on the same thought waves. Volare, oh oh/Cantare, ohohoho/Nel blu dipinto di blu/Felice di stare lassù/E volavo, volavo felice/Più in alto del sole ed ancora più su/Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva, lontano laggiù/Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per noi. My suspicion is growing that the ‘lone wolf’ was THE bodyguard. In the photo he wore dark glasses! He did not sneak in, he was meant to be there. That, of course, raises questions about the Turkish side of the security arrangements. It is not beyond belief that their security apparatus is still infiltrated by Islamists not necessarily Gulenists. The Grey Wolfs are a definite candidate. Earthrise on December 21, 2016 · at 1:43 am EST/EDT The assassin was his bodyguard, other footage from another angle shows him standing there behind His Excellency, and then just pulling out his gun and start firing. My understanding is the Host country is responsible for a diplomat’s security. This is going to put a lot of pressure on Turkey today during peace talks about Syria. If the Zionists did this, then this seems to fit their pattern lately of accidently shooting themselves in the foot at every opportunity. They are making the mistake of thinking everybody else acts like schoolyard bullies, they are not used to dealing with adults. It seems when History is on your side, you can do no wrong. Once She turns, you can do no right. A multi-polar world will necessarily be a more adult, diplomatic affair; which will require Sun Tzu and Machiavelli rather than Brzezinski and Wolfowitz. Funny they always call themselves ‘the adults in the room’ for their capacity to do whatever it takes to get results. But that is how a child acts. Adults look beyond instant gratification, and think about how decisions will effect their grandchildren. This is why it seems Putin is astride the world at the moment, the Adults are back. Avarachan on December 20, 2016 · at 6:31 am EST/EDT I suspect Talmudists. They are known for engaging in slaughter which ultimately accomplishes nothing but does express their own impotent rage. “Why do the Satanists rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1). My sincere condolences to the ambassador’s family, friends, and colleagues. “Give rest, O God, to Your servant, and place him in Paradise where the choirs of the Saints and the righteous will shine as the stars of heaven. To Your departed servant give rest, O Lord, and forgive all his offenses.” http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/memorialservice hym on December 20, 2016 · at 7:08 am EST/EDT The turkish mainstream news agencies point out that he was _not_ fired in the purge against the coup. He is working in the special forces and got a sick day off, booked a room in a hotel nearby the exhibition in the day of shooting and showed his well valid police ID to get around the security perimeter. I am turkish, and I personally believe it was a joint operation of CIA and Gulenists. After the coup, the Gulenists virtually lost the capability to conduct another coup, and their new tactic is to perform assasinations and suicide attacks to the strategical positions which will render their joint cause with CIA beneficial. The purge could not eliminate all Gulenists from police, military and other government organizations, as they hide themselves quite well. Evidences for the assassin Mevlut Mert Aydintas’ Gulenists link are that he got another sick day off on July 15 – the day of the Gulenist coup, went to a high school belonging to Gulenist movement and he was a suspect in a case regarding to rigging qualification exams for government positions. The Ankara represantative of Today’s Zaman newspaper (a propaganda machine of Gulenists) said on a December 16 tweet that from this day the ambassadors in Turkey have no security. I do not think it is quincidence. _smr on December 20, 2016 · at 10:10 am EST/EDT Makes a lot of sense, thanks. My heartfelt condolences to His Excellency’s widow, family and the Russian people. His patriotic blood now waters your tree of Liberty. Dear Saker, I really appreciate your continual focus on Russian fault in your analysis. Only by focusing on your own errors can you improve. Blaming others often hides our own faults, and that is truly dangerous. People concentrate too much on Know your enemy, and not enough on Know yourself. I am in the bratty Zionist camp on this one, they do seem to lash out when defeated. Judith L. Osterman on December 20, 2016 · at 8:21 am EST/EDT I would guess that it was the disgruntled authors of the (so far) failed Bashar al Assad regime change policy. If the assassin is telling the truth, there are others in on the plot, who intend to remove their enemies “one by one”. I have a few questions. Did anyone see blood coming from Amb. Karloff? I didn’t. Why did the US Embassy go on lockdown 2 hrs after the shooting w/vague reports of gunfire heard? Was the crash of IL18 a coincidence? Could Aydintas have passed himself off as Karlov’s security? If not. why was he permitted to position himself behind the ambassador, & out of his line of sight? The security was not only abominable, it seemed to be, perhaps, nonexistent. RIANovosti shows the killer running through the bldg. alone, not crouching, after the murder, while the police outside walk around in a seemingly uncoordinated fashion. He must have had confederates in the gallery; I don’t think the lack of protection was accidental, or due to negligence &/or bravado. Why was a purged policeman allowed to retain his ID? Your last question is one I ask too. But as I’ve said before I don’t believe he was a “purged” policeman. I think that story is one being given out by the Turks to distance themselves from him. I’ve read lately that the Turkish press has reported he was a “serving” policeman. And that he took a “day off” to be able to commit the crime.I don’t blame the Turkish government for the murder (directly). Though I do think their coddling of Islamists has lead to the “climate” in Turkey that allowed this murder.The old saying ,”you lay down with dogs,you get fleas”,is my thinking on their problem. Uncle Bob, again how does an islamist look like? this guy looks more like a kemalist He was a policeman. And hoped to get into the exhibit to kill the Ambassador. I doubt that he’d be “dressed” as a jihadi . What we do know is what he said at the murder. He shouted jihadi slogans. And claimed he wanted revenge on Russians for Aleppo. We also know (from many sources over the months) that Islamists are thick in Turkey. Putting all those things together,while there is the “possibility” of error. I think there is a good chance that he is an Islamist. Only time will tell,if more information comes out. But until then I’ll stick to my thinking on that. there is no such thing as islamist, is there such thing as christianist? What is islamist slogan? you mean ”Allahu Akbar”? that is muslim slogan for achieving good. Not in my knowlege that muslims shout Allahu Akbar for killing. Terrorists do and terrorists are not considered muslims since it is forbidden in islam to kill. This assassination only serves one thing, damaging Russian turkish relationship. Who benefits? it sure is not Erdogan’s Turkey. Uncle Bob 1 on December 20, 2016 · at 10:21 am EST/EDT The question isn’t what he “really” was. But instead what he “thought” he was. While we can’t be certain of what was in his mind. We must ask ourselves which type of movement uses suicide attacks. And yes,his public murder of the Ambassador was a form of suicide attack.He was almost certain to be killed after the attack by security. And I think he surely would have known that. So what type of ideological thinking in today’s World embraces suicide attacks. Its not rocket science to figure that out.There probably are many terms that could be used for them. But the one most often used by themselves and by their enemies is “Islamist”.So you can quibble about semantics (a favorite pastime of your’s I’m seen),but I think everyone gets the idea of my meaning by that term.And yes, ”Allahu Akbar” is used by both Jihadi supporters and at times by their enemies.But their enemies aren’t in the habit of murdering Russian Ambassadors.So when that phrase is uttered by someone who is in that habit. We can pretty closely guess which group he supports. One more point on that. I’m going to suppose he was Muslim (or thought of himself as a devout Muslim).And I’m thinking that for a true devout Muslim,it would be considered a sin to commit murder with God’s name on their lips. While for a true-believer Jihadi,it would be considered a blessing instead.So one more piece of evidence.And lastly,I think I said (several times already) that I doubt Erdogan had anything to do with the murder.So yes,it was probably meant to harm Russian-Turkish relations. UB1 You may be right that this was a de facto suicide attack. But you may be wrong. The chances of the attack ending as a de facto suicide seem to be decreased by the fact that there were no security agents present to, for example, immediately shoot the assassin dead. Presumaby the assassin knew the arrangements before he entered the exhibit and teh gallery. Namely, that he would be the only “gun” in the room I gotta say I think that if this had occurred in many parts of the USA, this guy would not have gotten out of that room to run around the museum . . . Uncle Bob 1 on December 22, 2016 · at 10:41 pm EST/EDT True,except he didn’t try to escape. But spent crucial time instead shouting his hate speech. He was the only gun “immediately” in the room. But being a policeman he must have known the outside was “crawling” with armed security. If he intended to escape his only chance would have been to try and leave right at the start.Flashing his police ID again,to confuse the police. But he didn’t do that. He stayed like a lamb to the slaughter.That is why I say it was a suicide mission. And he knew and accepted that.Few if any people committing crimes for money are willing to sacrifice their own life (knowingly that is) for that money.The type of people that will,are those driven by ideology.And that ideology is almost always in today’s World religious. I strongly doubt a “non-jihadi” Muslim would think that Allah/God would approve of murder.Only the jihadis driven by an extremist version of Islam,would believe themselves blessed by committing murder. @Not in my knowlege that muslims shout Allahu Akbar for killing You missed all the videos that the jihadists (who are islamists by their own admission) put on the Net, bellowing ‘Alahu Akbar’ when cutting the throats of the ‘infidels’ or ‘apostates’. You believe zionist propaganda He was dressed like the typical bodyguard, suit and dark glasses. More blame Erdogan?? 100% presentation of the same meme. That is how GWB would say you catapult the propaganda right? Grey Wolf’s – NATO Kurds- PKK- NATO Israel- Mossad @ Uncle Bob: “[..] The old saying ,”you lay down with dogs, you get fleas”, is my thinking on their problem.” You took the words right out off my mouth. But not only on this occasion, I was thinking about that exact phrase when we were discussing the ‘German problem’ a day or so ago… If Russia believes Erdogan was not responsible, which seems likely, they will not embarrass him. You will only see blood if a major artery or vein is hit and it bleeds externally. Watch the video closely. pieter on December 21, 2016 · at 5:22 pm EST/EDT another point of view: http://www.tomatobubble.com/id1073.html Tomsen on December 21, 2016 · at 11:22 pm EST/EDT Good link thanks ;-). kemerd on December 20, 2016 · at 8:35 am EST/EDT mm, no he was not among the officers who were fired during gulenist purge, this is what the government wants to convey but a screenshot of his personnel file have already leaked showing him in active duty. In fact, he was on sick leave on doctor’s report, apparently for preparing for the attack. But, yes, I should say his attire, hair cut, etc, reminds very much Gulenist idiots. Hmm on December 20, 2016 · at 8:47 am EST/EDT Good old Saker! How refreshing to read analysis that acknowledges the writer doesn’t know or tells us we may never know something. While the fake corporate media interview each other and present opinion/speculation as fact. I read an interesting article in the early 1990s about the decline of the US education system. They are now reaping the rewards with dimwits in the CIA, the State Dept etc etc. People who quite simply do not understand – or want to understand Russia or indeed diplomacy. On a related note Zero Hedgers were commenting about Obummer heading for the golf course after making some insincere comments about the assassination. No need to be surprised really. It’s been obvious for decades that the US president is just a figurehead. He doesn’t do anything. So being on the golf course gets him out of the way of the deep state chaps. Very accommodating of him. Terry on December 20, 2016 · at 10:51 am EST/EDT When Reagan got “elected” I said the US deep state had quit pretending they elect presidents and just hired an actor. Gotta give Ronnie credit though; he always stayed on script. A reap pro. Ghassan Kadi on December 20, 2016 · at 9:09 am EST/EDT Very Saker-style comprehensive and intelligent analysis. Of all possibilities analysed, I go for the lone operator Daeshite; not much different from his “colleague” who did the Berlin market attack a few hours later. These crazed zealots are as excited to kill as much as they are excited to get killed. Their suicidal nature gives their doctrinal and organisational identity away. Moreover, the fact that they have been using pistols and trucks as weapons is an indication that they will stop at nothing. The “weapons” they use are an indication of lack of resources and bigger and more sophisticated local support base. Many Daesh recruits who engage in such acts become known to Daesh after the facts; not before. What defines them as Daesh members is not the outcome of filling an application form and joining the ranks, but rather it is the collective Jihadist ideology that unites them. Same day there was also attack on mosque in Zurich which MSM choose to ignore. Ankara, Berlin and Zurich all same day. This is not by accident. “Many Daesh recruits who engage in such acts become known to Daesh after the facts; not before.” GoldmanSachs has the same employment policy. Applications for Vice President positions must include details of a successful billion dollar fraud in the CV. Sure there is a message here: https://www.facebook.com/ole.dammegard/photos/a.993858100641316.1073741828.993820027311790/1552564724770648/?type=3&theater Eimar on December 20, 2016 · at 9:50 am EST/EDT Re security: you are absolutely right, Saker. Repost of Trump’s (unexpectedly – to me, anyway – statesmanlike and seemingly sincere) condemnation of the murder of Ambassador Karlov (r.i.p.): “Today we offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated by a radical Islamic terrorist,” Trump said in a statement. “The murder of an ambassador is a violation of all rules of civilized order and must be universally condemned.” Yes, a ‘violation of all rules of civilized order and must be universally condemned’ is exactly what this crime is. Well-said – for once. Now I would like him to highlight the use of a seven/year old girl as a suicude-bomber in Damascus by the Western/sponsored terrorists: she was detonated by remote. The 21stC is shaping up to be a new ‘dark age’ in human history: he has the power to do something about it. But does he have the courage? Petra on December 20, 2016 · at 2:15 pm EST/EDT “[Trump] has the power to do something about it. But does he have the courage.” I would contend the opposite. He does has the courage. He doesn’t have the power. He can slowly and ever-so-cautiously accumulate the power. And I agree with yesterday’s commenter, who conjectured that this assassination could be a warning to Putin. But I would add, also to Trump. Barb on December 22, 2016 · at 11:57 pm EST/EDT Why condolences to family and loved ones only? His Excellency wasn’t a nobody, victim of a roadkill: he was “Russia incarnated” (as any ambassador). Why not condolences to Russia and russian people? I don’t like this tweet. raja on December 20, 2016 · at 10:12 am EST/EDT Sorry for posting in this blog, but can you please put a few words on the current demand of caliphate in london, cannot find anything on net with regard to truth. Red Ryder on December 20, 2016 · at 2:36 pm EST/EDT London . . . “USA, you will pay, Caliphate is on its way” https://twitter.com/BBassem7/status/810655601122381824 david on December 20, 2016 · at 10:13 am EST/EDT Excellent analysis, not much info available so no point in jumping to conclusions. Does anyone know what the lapel pin the killer was wearing? I can’t find a clear image. Vasco da Gama on December 20, 2016 · at 12:43 pm EST/EDT Unable to venture a guess, here’s the clearest depiction i’ve come across: Peter AU on December 20, 2016 · at 4:17 pm EST/EDT https://twitter.com/AbraxasSpa/status/810901983930568704 Large image here https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0Dm6vHWQAA08uR.jpg david on December 20, 2016 · at 6:17 pm EST/EDT Thank you both Vasco da Gama and Peter AU. Kent on December 20, 2016 · at 10:45 pm EST/EDT And where did this image come/originates from?? 18 kb, no data embedded at all. (the “large” image) You are right Kent. When I went back to it and compared pics there was no way to tell if it was the pin the shooter was wearing. In fact the more I looked at it the more I thought they may have been different. elsi on December 20, 2016 · at 10:27 am EST/EDT The question here is always blame the Russians ( as happens with your stubborn insistence in a failure by the Syrian Army on the retake of Palmyra by ISIS, when a major operation was being played in Aleppo and there were another supposed “coalitions against terrorists” in charge of that zone and the zone of procedence of the 5000 assets ), since they have been quite effective in their campaign in Syria so as to, along with their allies, clear the main cities in Syria from terrorist scum. It seems that they are the Turkish the responsible to provide security for diplomats in Turkey: Kremlin spokesman: Ankara is responsible for safety of Russian diplomats in Turkey http://tass.com/politics/920846 So, I will point at the MIT as responsible, in benefit of “those of always”. Yes, you are correct. It it the responsibility of the host country to protect other countries’ diplomats serving in it. (Although, I can see the Saker’s point, that in unusually dangerous times, countries should take additional (clandestine) measures to protect their diplomats.) Consider this Saker….4 Preibus has stated Trump will accept the Russians interfered with the election if the FBI agrees with the CIA assessment. But Commey is in deep too. http://www.globalresearch.ca/welcome-home-isis-the-obama-administrations-plan-to-reintegrate-foreign-terrorist-fighters/5563476 Here is an alternative to the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHsU9DtvMg _smr on December 20, 2016 · at 1:49 pm EST/EDT Must watch, folks. One doesn’t need to agree with this particular Youtuber’s take to get the awkward feeling that a whole number of things don’t add up in this snuff video of the Russian ambassador to Turkey. The Clowns in Charge have their hands in this, on multiple levels, guaranteed! Why is this video ignored? why isn’t anyone paying attention. There are some interesting points in this video and deserves attention. Bro 93 on December 20, 2016 · at 7:08 pm EST/EDT It’s not ignored. It just brings up 100+ more questions that cannot be answered in a day or two. Besides the question about the you tuber himself possibly doctoring video, the main question becomes: 1. “We know from 911 and many other instances that the west is an occultocracy. Does Russia need to show it can play the same mind games?” Why? To put a stop to these things, by showing they’re just as good at it, along with their new Turkish “partners”? 2. Then what would be the plan for the ambassador, plastic surgery and a new identity? Why? It is suspicious but so is everything until it can be checked from every conceivable angle. Freemasons communicating in broad daylight to other freemasons? Cooperating with each other or opposing factions in competition? And on and on and on and on. Let the de-occulting accelerate, let discernment increase dramatically. But that isn’t possible in a day. Thank you for your input. I really appreciate your contribution to the debate. I have been trying to make sense of what is going on for a long time and nothing makes sense. Maybe it is not supposed to make sense. Maybe it is one big joke on the tax payer. Rublev on December 21, 2016 · at 7:25 am EST/EDT I’m not sure either, how deep are we caught in the “simulacra & simulation” circus. On one hand, there are many trolls in the “conspiracy/alternative” corner, whose main job is just creating “guilt by association” Eintopf, where Truth cannot be discerned. And confusion is a powerful method of Kontrol… On the other hand, the Elite is already so arrogant & sure, that “they” are bombarding us with “their” “revelation of the method” stuff and any opposition is now “fake news”. The masses are distracted & hypnotized, the “truethers” are neutralized. Interesting times indeed… we are the living carnival of mirrors filled with shapeless solipsistic masks meaningless noise everywhere, intangible empty forms are pregnant, no pills and they will call the offspring: Vaccuum Michel van Dijk on December 20, 2016 · at 11:05 am EST/EDT Payback for China’s drone stunt. Bente Petersen on December 20, 2016 · at 11:18 am EST/EDT Conclusion the murdering will have only one result: Russia’s determination to put sanity into this world will only be strengthened… Mr Karlov is already gone home to whatever we call it and is now resting in peace. Like a good Russian soldier he fought well and bravely. I tend to think that it was the mad guys in US’ administration, but as usual they had forgotten that such an act will not deter Russia from putting sanity back into our world… Good we shall soon have a different US Administration. KJR on December 20, 2016 · at 11:27 am EST/EDT What I find unusual is no exit wounds and no evidence of bleeding. Perhaps he was wearing some sort of protective vest because Inwould expect exit wounds or at least puddling blood beneath him. Sorry to be so macabre. KJR on December 20, 2016 · at 11:27 am UTC “What I find unusual is no exit wounds and no evidence of bleeding” In the case of the Ambassador? Or the gun man? The gunman seems to have been plenty bloody. No blood at all on or from the diplomat after nine shots? Hard to believe . . . Just sayin’ . . .. The Russian diplomat. There was no evidence of bleeding at all. I assume he used a 9mm pistol. Very lightweight, high velocity jacketed hollow point ammo could have been used that would have less liklihood of exiting but it’s not guaranteed. A 5.7×28 caliber as suggested may perform similarly but there exists only one pistol that shoots that caliber and that’s not what he’s holding. chimmy on December 20, 2016 · at 10:30 pm EST/EDT Again, I am no expert on firearms, but a small caliber round, say a 5.7 X .28 tumbles through the target causing major internal damage without necessarily exiting. In any case the video is focused on the gunman more than the victim — which itself is uncanny given the tripod scenario. Lawrencion on December 20, 2016 · at 11:49 am EST/EDT I put lack of security question on RT comments an got plenty of thumbs up until my comments were taken down , anyway following the failed coup probably due to Russian warning, seems to me there will be alot of anger when one loses their job , career and hasn’t much to lose makes people desperate.When debathification took place in Iraq the purged military became rebels an insurgents and eventually the core military might of Isis. there has to be lots of anger at Russia from the sunni side of things which to my mind begs the question again of why such a lax of security for such an position in a country with all the recent activities /defeats of Isis and the coup planners Dimitar on December 20, 2016 · at 12:37 pm EST/EDT My sincere condolences to the family of the innocent ambassador. No one should have to endure such unnecessary tragedy. However the individual responsible may have justified his act, the ultimate responsibility lies at the feet of those who are setting the world ablaze, country after country, people after people without a thought of consequence for their despicable crimes. Horror can only beget horror, as we are seeing today across the globe in countless instances. I am reminded of the West’s tarring of Milosević, as the commander of all war in the Balkans, with the so called “Butcher of the Balkans” being guilty of “countless deaths” of innocent Muslims at Srbrenica and Kosovo, in his mad pursuit of “Greater Serbia” ( funny that, because Milosević’s alleged victims, the Albanians are now on a turbo path to realization of fascist “Greater Albania”, with the blessings of the West of course ), whereas we now know that the Balkan wars were in fact engineered by the CIA, aided and abetted by the degenerate EU and terrorist NATO. An article from the last few days in Macedonian media, reveals a report from the BBC that its expected that there will be at least another 10,000 deaths from bombing of Serbia with depleted uranium. And just to illustrate the true nature of these non-humans, another article in Macedonian media revealed that Bill Clinton expresses regret that his illness ( not specified, and which he’s been hiding from the public ) is a direct result of his past actions. Lol, I thought, can it be the real butcher of the Balkans is connecting the dots and expressing regret for the countless lives he’s destroyed? Well, as it turns out, no! Bill apparently was saying that the sexual dalliances of his youth had finally caught up with him. The speculation was that he has some sexual transmitted disease, perhaps HIV. Anonymous on December 20, 2016 · at 12:39 pm EST/EDT For eschatological reasons Putin has to put his boot on the ground in Constantinople…because then ‘they’ will know the day of the Messiah is at hand. This follows on from when you hear the Russians have taken Crimea the footsteps of the Messiah can be heard. Haaretz had a story about the Vilna Goan and a prophecy regarding Gog and Magog…look it up. Turkey is being set up…the slaying at the art exhibit is just one of many things planned…that eventually lead to falsely incriminating Erdogan et all…to engender it seems the requisite resolve in Russia to crush and control Turkey to thereby have Russia walk the preordained path. Hillary was brought down by the reopening up of the investigation a week or so prior to the 8th. She was meant to lose. A pathos generating sacrifice. Poor old Trump is another form of pathos generator. Branded a Russian controlled puppet…a harebrained twit…his spokesman Preibus locked Trump in to accepting Russia interfered with the election if the Intel agencies concur. Obama admin says Obama warned Putin directly that interference with US election would be dealt with in accordance with the rule of war. The agencies are to get back to Barry with their finding prior to inauguration day. Sure as eggs they will finger the Ruskies. Trump has been fooled into believing the FBI is on his side. Its good cop bad cop. The lone gunman who was killed in a hail of bullets? Someone definitely didn’t want him to talk. He was also involved in the security of the Russian Embassy whilst he was an active policeman, so he was possibly familiar to any Russian security or even the Ambassador himself. The attack took place at 6pm Monday. At 4:30 am on Tuesday, a lone gunman approached the US Embassy just across the road from the art center and fired several shots into the air. In spite of the US having issued a terrorist alert for the Embassy, he was not gunned down, but simply arrested. Immediately after the ambassador attack, Russia i) declared the attack on its ambassador to be a terror attack and ii) Russian stated it was an attempt to divide Russian and Syria. In addition, Russia asked Turkey to be involved in the investigation and that has happened. This looks like a replay of the handling of the failed coup attempt, with the US attempting deflect attention away from their (possible? probable?) responsibility for the attack (Obama vows retaliation as evidence for Russian hacking mounts). The claim is that their emabassy was attacked, and at the same time, by implication of how it is handled in the western MSM. They are desperate to prevent the escalation of responsibility into a declaration of the US as a state sponsor of terror, which is a possibity if Gulenists were involved as Gulen resides in the US and is reputedly connected to the CIA. Saker: I wondered myself about where the ambassador’s security was? However as I listened yesterday to RT’s coverage as this unfolded, one man stated, there is no such thing as 100 percent security Much the same as life. Saker ‘Some will correctly say that the fall of Aleppo is a humiliating defeat for Turkey and Erdogan, and I agree” Then you would be 100 percent mistaken. Aleppos liberation (interesting that you use ‘fall’?) came about through a deal between Turkey and Russia- There was mainstream media coverage on this- albeit very little of it- except at my blog apparently? Turkey intentionally encouraged ‘discontent’ in the ranks- No supplies etc- This deal between Russia and Turkey was first reported on in October of this year With subsequent follow ups http://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.ca/2016/12/russia-and-turkey-pushed-west-out-of.html The US was less then happy about Russia and Turkey’s cooperation. As was Israel. Especially galling was the tripartite meeting today between Russia, Turkey and Iran to settle up the Syrian issue. Putin “This murder is clearly a provocation aimed at undermining the improvement and normalization of Russian-Turkish relations, as well as undermining the peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in settling the conflict in Syria” Lone Wolf- no way Erdogan- no way Saker “Putin will do nothing harsh regardless of who is behind this murder” Nothing harsh, just retribution on the QT Putin “The killers will feel it” I lean towards CIA/Gulen- Infiltration of the police forces – well known CIA/Gulen connection- well known Second choice Grey Wolves/NATO After all it was a Grey Wolf that killed an inconvenient Pope GeorgeG on December 20, 2016 · at 7:33 pm EST/EDT It seems to me we need to take a broader look at the field of action. First, just to begin with a question as a sort of outline: Did the assassin and/or his handler(s) simply want to hit a Russian in retaliation for the liberation of Aleppo, or did they specifically want to hit Ambassador Karlov? The former is merely a formal option and so at least possible, but it seems the latter is more the “high confidence” hypothesis. If that is so, wha did they know about Ambassadr Karlov’s specific contribution to the liberation of Aleppo, and from what position would they have been able to knowwhat they apprently had to have known? I suggest that such questions lead in a direction where there is a lot we do not know at all, and, at this point, it is good that we don’t know it. Basically, however, while the UN, the US, and the Europeans have been screaming their lungs out over there being no military solution, and a political solution has to be initiated, while claiming that Russia is only interested in a military solution, that is not true at all. The liberation of Aleppo is the achievment of the political process. Yes, with the combined Syrian et al. military component backing it up, but, as the Russian General Staff put it, they succeeded in doing what the Americans promised and did not do: separate the “opposition” from the Jihadis. That “separation” was the political process, and it will continue, now in the hands of Syia, Russia, Iran, and Turkey. What was Ambassador Karlov doing in that political process? Was he negotiating with Turkey? Probably, actually, sure, that is what he was doing. But, given that Turkish-Syrian coordination is still taking baby-steps, was he also coordinating intelligence between Turkish “influenced” Jihadis, Syians, Russians inside and outside Aleppo? If the Turks said, ‘Look, we have cut out the supplies going to X, Y, and Z, and we believe we can get through to Group A and B,’ but the Russians and Syrians said they know Group B was being run by the Saudis with British or American coordination from Turkey, so they should not let Group B in on the mechanics of the process, in fact fkeep them out of it, utmost secrecy, especialy if those who were negotating really wanted to get away with their lives intact, maybe Ambassador Karlov was right at the center of that process, coordinating, negotiating, verifying intelligence, etc. Of course, the Russian Reconciliation Center was doing its part the whole time also, perhaps even smack in the middle of the still Jihadi-held neighborhoods of East Aleppo. (Would make for a nice thriller.) If so, Ambassador Karlov’s work was essential, which means he was an extraordinary person, professionally and culturally. Today’s meeting in Moscow between the Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers would then be the culimination and consoidation of months of work to which Ambassador Karlov contributed vry crucially. The crowning achievement of his life, even under the dark shadow of his death. — Do I exaggerate? I do not know, I am merely trying to understand the process and the wave that has swept the US of A out of having any say in the process of Syria’s coming peace and reconstruction. That means pretty much only that we stop for a moment to appreciate what an extraordinary political-military feat the liberation of Aleppo is. Let me correct that: … try to begin to appreciate. Are there any historical parallels to it? I have no idea, but I doubt it. But without Turkey’s contribution to that process, it would not, could not have worked. But it did work, and it will continue working. And if all of that — or something like that — is so, the assassin and his handler(s) intended to hit Ambassador Karlov for that reason, which means the intent was to stop the process by liquidating what they saw as one of its critical movers. But the assassination doesn’t help the handler(s). It does not give them a bargaining chip to come back to the negotiating table. It will not stop the political process well underway. If the US comes back, under the new administration, — and, of course, the Russians are alwways readyx for that — they are in no position to dictate terms. Whatever the public statements, whatever the propaganda spin when the Syrians move on to retake their country, the segments of the “coalition” will be preoccupied digesting that reality. Andrey Karlov was an extraordinary person and extraordinary diplomat. He was involved in all negotiations with Turkey, Kurds, Iran, and lately he was leading the negotiations with Syrian oposition. These last activities of Andrey Karlov I suspect made him a specific target. Historical paralells? The assasination of the Russian ambassador (and great Russian writer) Alexander Griboyedov in Iran 1829. J. Orlando on December 20, 2016 · at 12:57 pm EST/EDT An ex-cop doesn’t get to keep his Police ID card (his badge) after he is gone. He gets his civilian ID card back. Also, this guy was identified by some Kurdish media as a riot police cop working part-time as a bodyguard at Ertogan’s rallies in the past 2 years, the same time he has been a cop. Also, he has been shooting selfies with the President’s posters on the background, at political rallies, so he didn’t act as your typical die hard Gulenist who hates the regime. It is also astonishing to see how easily the Ertogan regime claims that Kurds and Gulenists are behind every recent terrorist attack, and when some ISIS Jihadi goes on and blows half a street full of people, then the news are “spinned” so they will present the perpetrators as either Gulenists or Kurds, ie the President’s enemies. But this guy seems to be a Nusra sympathizer, probably recruited by some Imam to “kill the Christian devil and avenge Aleppo” (and preventing the talks from happening, to the delight of the people who employ the Imam from across the ocean or the desert). This doesn’t mean he wasn’t Ertogan’s soldier in the first place, for Ertogan is an Islamist himself, let us not forget that. This guy was just a fool to be used as a pawn. And you can just see the hatred on his face when he shoots the Ambassador 9 times! This was not a pro hit by some agent. It was a murder by a fanatic. It seems Ertogan can’t even trust his own men anymore. Blaming Erdogan for everything is so passe If the sun fails to rise will it be Erdogans fault too..? The incessant blaming of Erdogan positively reeks of agenda pushing- classic demonization/ad hominem There are so many other players to consider Don’t let a failure of imagination (9/11 reference) impede you from considering all possibilities RayB on December 20, 2016 · at 3:00 pm EST/EDT Dear Penny: While I don’t at this time “blame” Erdogan directly. I do however fault him for providing an abysmal lack of security for the assassinated Russian Ambassador entrusted to Turkey. That said I find your rant here abhorrently ignorant of the fact that Erdogan is a poisonous two faced snake that can strike anyway which way at any time of the day depending on his mood and therefor can never ever be trusted. Just hope that Putin will finally now place him in the bottom of the snake pit and henceforth ever keep a weary eye on all of his slimy movements. Dear Ray B: Faulting Erdogan for lack of security? Where was the Russian security? “I find your rant here abhorrently ignorant …” I find your rant abhorrently ignorant also- All your big assumptions included. And your simplistic scapegoating.. you and many others Putin has already made very clear he isn’t putting Erdogan or Turkey anywhere. How that must disappoint you? Earthrise on December 20, 2016 · at 10:53 pm EST/EDT My understanding is the security of diplomats is up to the host country. He got through because the Turks were in charge of his security, I don’t think the Ruskies would have made such an error. Their error was in trusting the Turks. Natoist für Geld on December 20, 2016 · at 1:01 pm EST/EDT If you ask me, Obama did it. It is his revenge for H. Clinton. Nussiminen on December 20, 2016 · at 6:05 pm EST/EDT NfG: I wouldn’t be the slightest surprised should the Ziomedia interpret the above as irrefutible evidence of Karloff rigging the Pindo Presidential election. The Pindos never take the lives of innocents, LOL. Delmar on December 20, 2016 · at 1:27 pm EST/EDT Lawyers always tell their clients to never make threats… Good advice. Barky-Boy and the senile Biden-Boy have been making threats… (these guys passed the bar exam?) Now we see why it’s stupid to make threats… If the threatened act occurs, then people will assume you did it… It’s an old theme in literature. So now the natural assumption, and the logical one that’s probably true? Obvious – Barky and his gang did it… But that was obvious… What’s more interesting is what happens now that the murder has failed to get the desired results? As General Ripper said at Burpelton AFB, “two can play that game, soldier”… (recall Strangelove). Now let’s try to conserve our Precious Bodily Fluids, eh? Great comment Delmar!:) clam on December 20, 2016 · at 1:30 pm EST/EDT What if this guy was a Turkey security of the ambassador? That would explain how he had all the time in the world to do what he did…??? Dean W. Arnold on December 20, 2016 · at 1:34 pm EST/EDT The video doesn’t make sense to me. Why does the camera zoom in after the shooting? What cameraman in his right mind is not ducking for cover? 1. The cameraman is in on it. 2. This is staged. 3. I may get flamed for this, but one of the possibilities that needs to be explored is a Russian false flag. They benefit. Is there footage of the ambassador shot? I’ve only seen before and after, and no face in the after. I know it’s a stretch (I love Russia and suspect the U.S. of most false flags) but to be fair to our desire to probe every incident, this needs to be considered as well. Regarless, the video makes no sense given the cameraman’s actions. Not a single lone nut. mosaicdave on December 20, 2016 · at 5:11 pm EST/EDT Yes, this is my feeling exactly – this video looks staged: — A photographer is shooting a video of an ambassador giving a speech, and suddenly there are 6+3 rapid gunshots. And moreover, in that enclosed area with hard walls, the sound of a 9mm pistol, or whatever the weapon is, is going to be loud and shocking and terrifying. Yet photographer takes the time to re-aim his camera, adjust the zoom, and refocus? BS. — Then the next we see mr. ambassador is lying neatly on his back with legs nice and straight, and left arm dramatically outstretched. Why doesn’t he fall in the direction away from the shooter, from the momentum of the impacting bullets, and land in more or less a crumpled mess? And meanwhile there’s completely no sign of any blood or exit wounds. This just doesn’t look right. This then would explain the “lack of security” – it’s just fake. Mind you, I wouldn’t criticize Russia and/or Turkey for doing this; it would be completely reasonable during a war to cooperate in staging a shooting in order to achieve some political or strategic objective. I had the same feeling about Turkey “shooting down the Russian fighter jet”. PokeTheTruth on December 20, 2016 · at 5:29 pm EST/EDT I’ve read every comment and yours is the only one questioning the details about what the public sees in the imagery. I would like to share with you my thoughts along those lines. An AP (Associated Press) photographer was at the event and took photos (see: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/19/europe/turkey-russian-ambassador-shot/ ) We see what appears to be the shooter standing behind and to the left of the ambassador. Another man is standing to the right of the victim (see: http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161219121710-05-andrey-karlov-shooting-1219-exlarge-169.jpg ). Take a close look at the pictures mounted on the wall behind the ambassador. They are from a still photograph (not the video ) that shows the ambassador positioned at an angle in front of one corner of the room. At first I thought the victim had moved from that location to where the podium was but now I realize that was incorrect, he was always at the podium. We see another still photograph here (see: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6138b54dce0bf74f20f260c4285744d4ab903ef91d40b8e33b868b9fd9315bf.jpg ) shot from a corner of the front area of the room showing the shooter yelling at the audience covering themselves in the back of the room, the ambassador lying on his back, and the man who was initially standing to the right of the ambassador in the first still picture lying down on his face, his arms up from his body slightly. If we look at the video of the murder, no one is standing behind the ambassador as he is speaking into a microphone at the time of the shooting (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhD2eUp1SMw ). You can run the YouTube video at a slower speed by selecting the little “gear” settings icon and choose 0.25. In your browser window (Firefox or other), you can blow up the image to see more detail. At this point, the pictures on the wall behind the ambassador are now different than the first pictures which means the video camera is capturing the ambassador’s speech squarely facing him. No one is standing directly behind the speaker. Next we see the bullet(s) hitting him and observe how he reacts. He starts to hunch forward as if he is shot from behind but afterwards we don’t see him lying in a prostrated position but instead in a supine position. His glasses violently flew off his head and wound up at the back of the room by the wall. As you noted, the video camera lens changes but it zooms outward, not inward in the scene. Our Saker suggests the camera is in ‘autofocus’ mode which is possible. However later during the video we see the gunman ranting and moving out of the video frame and the camera does not zoom out further to capture his movements. So here are my questions. The ambassador was a heavyset man with the bulk of himself in his thoracic area. 1. How does a person built like that wind up on his back instead of his front when shot from behind? Remember the video shows him leaning forward as he is shot. Is it possible he was shot by another person in front of him at point blank range to his chest area (heart, arteries, etc.)? The shooter was clearly not standing directly behind the ambassador when the shots were fired. 2. How does a right-handed shooter positioned behind and far left of his target, accomplish that kill shot from such a difficult angle? 3. Who took the picture from the front of the room? PTT, I am not sure what you mean by question two. The shooter was only a few meters from the ambassador. watch the video closely at or just before the 1 second mark. try and stop it at the very moment the ambassadors left shirt collar is flipped up. at that point, the ambassador drops quickly. Yes, I understand the shooter was a short distance away but the shot delivered to the ambassador was square to the body in the region of the vital organs under the thorax. The shooter we saw moments later was not directly behind the victim which means the angle of the bullet from his gun could not have traversed on a parallel line but on an angle to hit the back if that in fact was the case. I’m not suggesting the shot is impossible it may in fact be, as I’m not a criminal forensic specialist. Another point I neglected to mention is their was no signs of blood splatter either in front of the body or pooled underneath the deceased. You can zoom in on the still photographs as well as the video with the web browser’s magnification tool. I saw no sign of blood anywhere. “Fake news.” Propaganda. Manufactured. No blood, white room. Bogus assassination. pogohere on December 28, 2016 · at 1:39 am EST/EDT The assassin after he was shot: Mevlut Mert Altintas: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know 2. He Was Killed During a Gunfight With Security Forces [very bloody mess on a white background] http://heavy.com/news/2016/12/mert-altintas-turkey-turkish-police-officer-russian-ambassador-karlov-assassination-shooter-gunman-photos-pictures/ sejmon on December 20, 2016 · at 7:06 pm EST/EDT VERY INTERESTING…WILL SEE WHAT RUSSIAN INVESTIGATORS SAY ABOUT THEIRS INVESTIGATION TO PUBLIC…. OR EVEN BETTER THEIRS MILITARY REACTION IN FEW WEEKS/MONTHS … “I should not have to tell you to not use all capitals. It is considered rude. Please do not do it again. fk mod” Two short facts. According to Russian embassy Mevlut Mert Altyntas/Aydintas was part of the embassy security team last week. He took a day off on the day of the assasination. Turkish government nationalized the bigest asset of Gazprom in Turkey – Actel Holding. Excuses my possible ignorance of the facts here Saker, but is it not time for Putin to finally lay down the facts and draw a red line, confront Turkey and idiot Erdogan? for his continued support of the Islamic ISIS terrorists state, operating from within Turkey against Assad and the Syrian Nation and it’s people or what? I don’t understand the meaning of diplomacy when the man is clearly playing a double game and carelessly allows for a Russian diplomat to needlessly be murdered by his own “ex” police forces. What the fuck is going on that they are either that incompetent in assuring any reasonable degree of security to an honorable ambassador, or are they in on the game. or just a bunch of fucking dilettante assholes running around trying to have it both ways, while not committing to anything? Just hope that Putin has now had enough of Erdogan’s fucking stupid insanity, lays down the law or mercilessly retaliates against what can only be described as another double cross and stab in the back yet once again. What will it take to wake Erdogan up to the fact that he is a dead man walking? be it by way of another US coup or Russia herself somehow taking him down. RayB, I understand your anger and frustration. But one of the things Putin is teaching/reminding us is how diplomacy works, and how adults fight. Resorting to schoolyard bravado only aids the bully, they want you to resort to violence on their terms. This seems to be how the West does ‘diplomacy’, but no so in the East. The best revenge for His Excellency’s death is for Turkey to break away from NATO and join the SCO. If Russia and Turkey end up at war with each other, it would be the same victory to the AZ Empire as Sunni and Shia jihadis fighting each other. The best revenge, as others have said, is success in Syria, the frustration of the AngloZionist Empire and its eventual defeat. His Excellency knew the risks, he is a soldier who died in the line of duty. If his death can be used by the Russians to secure victory, then one life to save thousands is a fair trade. This is a soldier’s sacrifice. sadness on December 20, 2016 · at 1:52 pm EST/EDT Huh? – ….A scenario you might not like…. ….Maybe the RF should be less naive & more protective of their innocent diplomats in ‘dealing/negotiating’ with the devil…. The RF’s (limited here)armed forces are excellent in this Syrian theater, but against real&massive NATO air/ground power on foreign soil?…. Their diplomatic corps are genuine/honest/lawful/trustworthy, but in dealing with this devious enemy are regarded as weak, to be exploited….or, anything goes in love&war…. The terrorists are a proxy army put in place to work where NATO invasion is impossible + are a wonderful Arab demonization tool…. Turkey/Erdogan is a NATO foil to muddy the waters…. The cop was a patsy….. ….Poor Ambassador Karlov(so sorry) and Palmira2 are events to make you the fool…. ….KibbutzUSA/UK/etc under current western leadership and ideology is armed to win TINA…. ….Murder&fear is the tool….So sorry Mr&Mrs(average)Syrian/European/American/Arab/Russian/Asian/etc/etc who just want to live a life in peace&love….. Mr. Nachtigall on December 20, 2016 · at 1:53 pm EST/EDT Saker, you’re wrong. Russia has a different option, but won’t act on it. It can disintegrate Turkey, just like it could with the Ukr – but doing that would need a different ideology. An ideology, which is not the beloved globalism called multipolar world. Putin has saved Russia, but at this point he is major burden. He still tries to integrate Russia into the neoliberal global-political-economic order. Even after all the onslaught of propaganda against him and Russia in general, the political Russia is still open to go back to old business, i.e. to be part of the world capitalist order. Putin’s economic programs are a joke, a very sad one. Putin’s approach to the post soviet republics has given us banderite Ukrlandistan and an increasingly nationalistic post Soviet space. In the past Russians, Soviets acted on the principle, that anything, which doesn’t violate the laws of nature, can be done. Nowadays they hilariously wait till daddy sam gives them fresh green paper or the international money cabal lends them some juries to live for another day or they tax their population to death, to get a pathetic budget, but let their elites steal billions, call them businessman and let them live in Zurich/London/etc. Probably the richest country on earth, Russia chooses to live like a beggar. No large scale automisation, no nothing – just high interest rates and unsovereign money creation. gT on December 21, 2016 · at 9:25 am EST/EDT Any war is made up of 2 broad fronts, foreign and domestic. The foreign front can be thought to be made up of military, diplomatic, economic and informational objectives, while the domestic front can be thought to be made up of security, political, economic and the welfare of the people objectives. On the foreign front Russia’s overall strategy seems clear, avoid war at any costs, including the lives of any ambassadors. Make alliances and stir up the enemies alliances to make more alliances, but overall still only be certain of the “army and the navy” and airforce and nuclear forces. All the while selling oil and gas and now agricultural surplus and armaments to nearly any who want to buy. So Russia’s foreign strategy is generally clear. But Russia’s domestic strategy on the other hand is not to clear (to me at least). Europe generally has free health care, but Russia has moved away from free health care. Europe generally has low interest rates but Russia has high interest rates. In Europe the rich are taxed at much higher rates than the poor, but Russia does not seem to tax the rich that much as rich Frenchies are clamouring for Russian passports to escape tax in France. Both Russia and Europe have foreign owned central banks, at present, so have to obey the dictates of those central banks. Why not nationalize the central bank I don’t know. So on the foreign front Russia is cautious, and correctly so. On the domestic front Russia is also cautious. Is it correct to be cautious on both the foreign and domestic fronts? I don’t know and I can’t say, “Russia is a mystery wrapped in an enigma”. wilfriedb on December 22, 2016 · at 1:02 pm EST/EDT @gT In Europe social security and especially health care coverage differs very much from one country to another, but the overall trend has been lately, to my knowledge at least, to reduce the general social assurance coverage of their habitants, due to budget restrictions. So, if it is true that Russia is moving away from ‘free’ health care, European countries are as well in the sense that they are reducing their social security coverage as well. As for the tax rates being higher for the rich in Europe, our tax laws offer enough opportunities for the rich habitants to evade paying high taxes. Generally speaking and proportionally, the rich pay in fact less taxes than the middle class and poor. So, if it is true what you are claiming in your comment, Russian domestic politics don’t seem to differ too much of ours in Europe. twilight on December 20, 2016 · at 2:25 pm EST/EDT The assassin did it for the money. Like a ‘suicide’ bomber he sacrificed his life for a ‘greater’ cause, but in this case that cause was promting his familiy to a vastly higher status across the next few generations. His sibs, cousins etc will be able to migrate to the UK or USA. Places in the best universities will be reserved for them and/or their kids in America and Britain. The Deep State rewards their tools in the standard ‘Roman’ way. Most of you here are so naive about how the CIA and MI5 recruits such people- and this despite the endless easily researched history of rewards for the native butchers of invaded nations like Vietnam, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq etc who worked with the invading armies of the UK and USA. Anyone pushing the ‘lone nut’ idea is “Mr Disinfo”. But just because we know the killer was recruited and working for some Secret Service division of the West doesn’t mean we know who authorised the op. For instance, in the USA, there are many factions in the Deep State who work for the ultimate demon leadership – and they often work to differing agenda. In this case, we have the classic “strategy of tension” but it is aimed at Trump. Craft a series of ‘terror’ events to set the stage for the big one- the one that takes out Trump. Makes the ending of Trump just seem like part of a terrorist upsurge, rather than a JFK/Operation Northwoods type operation. There was a book by Agatha Christie called “The ABC Murders”. In it, the ‘strategy of tension’ method is used to disguise the real motivation behind a targeted killing. A terror campaign is orchestrated, with the intention of the blame to fall on a classic patsy. Meanwhile the real killer slips in the only murder they care about while Britain is in a craze about the series of ‘terror’ acts. Most fools think such clever planning is a recent invention- and is still unlikely to be a method used by Secret Service departments that are funded to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a year- as if in reality these people spend all year sitting on their thumbs. Getting a muslim man to give up his own life so his family will have a massively improved status across the next few generations is the easiest task in the world. It’s a simple cultural thing- and works with the psychology of ‘soft’ organised religious brainwashing, not any type of extremism. And now we have the second part of the same jigsaw puzzle, with the rapidly changing truck attack against the German Xmas market. With the actual driver mysteriously ‘vanishing’ after carefully planted lies about having the guy in custody, with have the same classic play as we saw during the 2004 Madrid Train bombings. In the coming days, the police will claim to track the perpertrator to a den of like-mined ‘fanatics’, and a shoot-out will see all the ‘fanatics’ killed. Big ending. All the patsies dead. Real story lost. Before they do Trump as seemingly part of the same ‘pattern’, they are likely to arrange a few other ‘events’ first. I doubt if any of the ‘pre’ events will happen in the USA, for fear of warning Trump and his people too much. And BTW Trump will have privately recruited many ‘friendlies’ from within the security services to mingle with any crowd in plain-clothes, separate to any official protection operation. This ‘assassination’ by a ‘friendly’ also serves to make Trump distrust members of his own private protection operation- weaking his defense planning. Not at all sure I understand what exactly you are trying to communicate twilight. Please try and translate your inter galactic outer space zone speak into some form of recognizable hominoid planet earths plain English language with many thanks in advance from your alien bothers living here on the orbiting blue planet. To think the craziness, your mind must be free to think anything. The guy is just predicting the future. It’s always some kind of crazy talk. But makes sense to me since I also have the power to read the signs from the stars. Or it could be Miss Vickie’s (Nuland/Knudleman’s) Captagon-laced cookies. kgbgb on December 20, 2016 · at 8:27 pm EST/EDT Most insightful comment yet. I fear you may be right. It would explain why, for the first time in ages, a political figure has been targeted, rather than a group of ordinary members of the public. (Other theories can, as well, of course.) For those suspecting that the murder was staged, rather than real, I don’t agree. They did really kill the poor guy; may he rest in peace. Watching the video in slow motion, you clearly see his clothing balloon outwards near his left clavicle as the almost spent bullet reaches his skin, but it apparently doesn’t have the momentum to come out through his clothing. A pistol bullet can kill instantly if it hits spinal cord or heart; there won’t be much bleeding from any exit wound because the heart stops pumping straight away. If the victim is overweight, there might be practically none , as the adipose tissue can close up again after the bullet has passed through it. But the bullet won’t necessarily transfer enough momentum to force the body to collapse in the direction of the bullet’s motion. All muscles will relax instantaneously, causing the body to “drop like a sack of potatoes”, as they say. The torso goes almost vertically downwards, forcing the knees forward. By conservation of angular momentum about the feet, the torso therefore gets a slight backwards momentum. When the knees have flexed as much as they can, the torso can no longer go downwards, so it must rotate forwards or backwards. It will go backwards unless the bullet’s forward momentum was enough to counteract the backward momentum caused by the “potato-sack” fall. With a small pistol-bullet, it is perfectly natural for a standing person killed instantly by a shot from behind to end up on their back, spread-eagled. (Part of the above analysis derives from the discussion below the line at Zero Hedge.) Lumi on December 20, 2016 · at 9:23 pm EST/EDT Excellent comments, twilight and kgbgb. The simple tangible reward explanation makes much more sense than any outlandish theories about alleged CIA MK Ultra super powers or 72 virgins in paradise. No magic bullet, only useful idiots and tangible benefits. Reminds me Wehrmacht General Hans Speidel, who in 1957 was promoted to the post of Supreme Commander for NATO Forces in Central Europe … no doubt in acknowledgment for his treasonary collaboration with the Normandy Invasion. Not an idiot, but very useful for Uncle Sam nonetheless. Realist on March 16, 2017 · at 1:31 pm EST/EDT This is one of my dilemma why they become terrorists in order to kill Muslim populations even for the money? There is also more to just for Wahabbist ideology. Is it also possible their family maybe kidnapped and blackmailed unless they do terrorism? It sure is bizzare, doesn’t make sense to kill self and other human beings who do them no harm. 1. Anyone know of any analytics being done on the photographs of the “taken out” assassin to compare him with the living one from moments before? It’s a very common practice where political assassinations are used (gladio, grey wolves, gladio b, etc.) to use substitutions. 2. About the identified assassin, everyone immediately got into the is-he-a-serving-policeman / is-he-a-purged-gulenist-policeman argument without questioning whether he is he’s assuming. It’s the easiest thing in the world to use fake ID at the best of times, and when thusands of policemen have recently been purged, there must be a vast stockpile of available IDs for the choosing. 3. People arguing that he was an “islamist” or jihadist on the basis of his shouting Alahu Akbar…?? I mean, for goodness’ sake, just how dupable have we become? “Anyone know of any analytics being done on the photographs of the “taken out” assassin to compare him with the living one from moments before? Hi Petra. Unfortunately it is not possible to do any decent forensic analysis of photos of this event based on what is available on the internet. All photos I’ve seen so far is the usual crappy jpeg’s, uploaded to twitter and displayed on various news outlets. They are all compressed down to 50 to 100 kb’s and with a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch), which means that more than 80% of original pixels are gone forever. In addition exif and IPTC embedded data are removed. It is possible though, sometimes, to calculate and rebuild the missing pixels. This is a very time-consuming process, and with the material and info at hand, I have decided not to do this. However, there are some of the photos that seems a little odd (videos too). This one as an example: http://telemarksporten.no/Tyrkia/What.jpg I saw a video yesterday with this very odd scene. The death scene below, could have been interesting if original was available as well as a map with exact location and timeline of event. http://telemarksporten.no/Tyrkia/DeathShot.jpg. I have been through, I believe all the “speculations” posted here, and could come up with a varieties of theories my-self, of which some might be partly true, and some not. I will refrain though, except that there is something fishy here, and more than one thing. the pessimist on December 22, 2016 · at 5:16 pm EST/EDT I saw a video posted that was shot from the street, outside the building. I believe it showed the assassin, through the windows, on the second floor moving from the room along an open corridor (open to atrium and thus visible) and then falling to the floor where he was hidden by a half wall. Heavy police presence in street with police vehicles. The assassin’s speech to the camera was a critical part of the event IMO and seemed rehearsed. He seemed distraught and emotional and says he expects to die. So he knew he wouldn’t be captured and questioned? It was planned to be a media event. It seems unlikely to me that it could have been successfully set up by a ‘lone wolf’ – not that I’m an expert in such matters. Is this one of the only places of substance on the whole internet who doesn’t understand live action drills staged for public consumption purposes? or like other limited hangouts, there are topics that can not be discussed lest the narrative fall apart… THIS GUY DIDNT DIE but he did just enter the private life… no blood…ever…on WHITE floor/walls…ha…we are being TROLLED… i mean c’mon – even with secured perimeter, u still have an armed goon next to the ambassador who would have dropped this fool before he finished firing… i mean c’mon people – russians and americans “going to war” on land – yet friends in space? Frenemies – the entire public is one giant frenemey factory… cynic on December 20, 2016 · at 3:26 pm EST/EDT Maybe the assassin was the assigned security man at a low key event. That would explain the lack of response from others, and give a reason for the Russians to have accepted that adequate security would be present. Cem on December 20, 2016 · at 4:52 pm EST/EDT Look at how the killer handles the gun, rests his finger alongside the trigger NOT on it, positions his body.. always in the same direction with the weapon. When not firing, barrel usually points to the floor. You don’t gain this skill in regular 6-month Turkish police training. He was trained by a very professional service, and as a Turk, I guarantee that his instructors weren’t Turkish. The ice-cold attitude, not showing slightest hesitation or panic, direct execution.. all points to the fact that he was also trained mentally. This was definitely a job of mossad/cia/mi6 trio aiming at sending a message to both turkey and russia “Look at how the killer handles the gun, rests his finger alongside the trigger NOT on it, ” They do that in all Holy Wood movies nowadays as well, and indeed in training. However this delays your reaction time in a real situation considerably (up-to 1/2 second or maybe even more). I never do that, it’s for brainwashed amateurs only. One week training for this shooters behavior and attitude should be quite sufficient, No comments on your other points, as I don’t have any. ActivePatriot on December 20, 2016 · at 5:02 pm EST/EDT Condolences to the family of Ambassador Karlov. May you rest in peace sir. This could and should have been avoided. I am surprised that Russian Diplomatic personnel do not have Russian security teams assigned to them for their protection, especially in areas such as Turkey. Do you not remember that Turks shot down a Russian plane and not so many months ago there was a coup attempt in the country? Why would Russians entrust Turkey to provide security for their diplomatic personnel?? Should be 2 Russian bodyguards around Ambassador at all times with a larger team providing perimeter security and all diplomatic personnel should be wearing minimum level II body armor in public. All other issues regarding who is responsible, etc… are a mute point as you should expect attempts such as this when you are involved in a war in the region and prepare for them properly. AP, I share your concerns. But one of the fascinating things about watching Russia at work is their use of Eastern principles. They left Palmyra practically undefended, either hoping their enemy would fall into the trap, or anyway it was not worth wasting forces to defend a place with no significant strategic value. Possibly their Ambassador was in a similar position. Little like the poor bugger walking Point, he either lights the way, or his death alerts the others. Left alive, he would have continued to do the great job he was doing. But if killed, would put pressure on Turkey to give more concessions, even maybe find Peace. It is this kind of clear sight that wins wars. Know your enemy, know yourself. A video here showing the 45 seconds leading up to the shooting. Shows the shooter standing in the background looking very much like security. https://twitter.com/Altmimy_1/status/811173402811781120 The enlarged pic of the shooters lapel pin. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0Dm6vHWQAA08uR.jpg Looking at the way he is dressed, where he standing ect, he was the Turkish security in the room for the ambassador. Gulenist is Erdo speak for CIA. I don’t tire saying the same. Is it possible that this diplomat may have been corrupt or done something we don’t know about and that he may have been sacrificed as he wasn’t needed anyway to justify retaliation? S113 on December 20, 2016 · at 8:12 pm EST/EDT This is a terrible topic to raise, while the people of Russia and Karlov’s friends and family are mourning. And I thought of it earlier today, too (at least the first part of your comment, about possible treason). Russian intelligence knew about a coup against Erdogan, just a few months ago, but they had no idea someone was targeting the ambassador? Russian intelligence in Turkey, which is comprehensive enough to identify the exact timing of a coup in the works, wouldn’t keep track of their own ambassador? E on December 20, 2016 · at 5:52 pm EST/EDT It may be that the Russians and Iranians did indeed lay down the law to Turkey. The press briefing by the FMs, in my mind, speak volumes. The Turkish FM made it clear that they (Turkey) respect the territorial integrity of Syria. Russia, Turkey and Iran are to be the “guarantors” of the peace process in Syria and call on all groups to lay down arms. Not unexpectedly, this does not include ISIS, Al Nusra and co. CB on December 20, 2016 · at 6:31 pm EST/EDT I agree with Peter AU. The shooter was likely the security provided for the Russian ambassador that day. The shooter, had he been rational, would have known he was on a suicide mission. It strikes me he was behaving like a subject in an MK Ultra type project. He had all the appearance of a man who thought he would survive what he had done. I don’t think Erdogan is behind this. More likely something the wahabist Saudis might try (with the help of a Western deep state agency). The Saudis must gain the caliphate or be overthrown. Nothing would suit them better than to break down an uneasy alliance between Russia and Turkey. Mr. Zarialle on December 20, 2016 · at 6:14 pm EST/EDT Something is telling me that or the Syrian political security directorate or the Syrian military intelligence directorate is heavily involved in the assassination of Karlov. Possibly for numerous reasons. Few people were sniffling about this when I was on duty. I’m open to change thoughts. lsammart on December 20, 2016 · at 6:35 pm EST/EDT There is still one month to Trump’s inauguration on the 20th of January 2017: until then it is still Obama administration and neocons in charge: everything may still happen! Even on Donbass front they staged another attack, but they were repelled. Kfeto on December 20, 2016 · at 7:22 pm EST/EDT A voicerecording that was being shared on social media in particular whatsapp after the murder of the ambassador and in which a voice alleged that the us was planning a civil war in Turkey, a voice that was initially being attributed to mit director Hakan Fidan, now turns out to belong to the head of the Diriliş Başkanları Derneği, Hasan Türksel(a ngo/organization dedicated to restoring ‘Osmanist’ culture) as stated in a press release by DBD “Surely at this point ‘Allegedly…’ not ‘turns out…’. Please give this topic the full sobriety it deserves. If you make such a claim, offer evidence. And even if you help by translating, please make sure that all your punctuation is clear and intact. fk mod “ Andy on December 20, 2016 · at 7:34 pm EST/EDT Anybody considering that this was a false flag? Russia and Turkey get a cause celebre and justification for further purges/agenda advancing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Russia and its overall agenda. Think about it – no blood on the floor from 5 or more bullet wounds. The cameraman adjusts his view frame at the right time, the shooter doesn’t threaten him. We have no images of the subtle lead up to the shooting and exactly how the victim went down. Who falls into a perfect arms splayed, resting on his back? Perhaps you have seen too many Hollywood movies? Just sayin’ – fk mod Can anyone tell me where the 5 or more bullet wounds story is coming from? A link to some reporting Yesterday as it occurred the reporting via RT- Live said TWO shots- Two shots were fired at the Ambassador- so where is the news of 5 to 8 shots coming from? I’d like to see that. And this forum would, no doubt, love to hear what evidence you find and what conclusions you make. fk mod I think I count 8 shots on the soundtrack of video that Peter AU linked to above at 5. 03 pm. It also clearly shows that the assassin was doing an amazingly good impression of being the Ambassador’s official security detail, if he wasn’t actually exactly that. kgbgb on December 20, 2016 · at 10:05 pm EST/EDT The no-blood-on-the-floor problem has been satisfactorily resolved in the discussions at Zero Hedge that I linked to above. (The discussions included experienced hunters and military men; I found it convincing.) I also explained the initially surprising final position of the deceased’s body in that post. The slight panning of the camera and the zoom-out could easily be the result of the camera-operator hurriedly removing their hands from the controls of the camera as they realise that this would be a good time to run, leaving it unattended on its tripod. Also, Jim Stone is convinced it was a real assassination, and I’ve found him to be pretty reliable in the short time I’m been reading him — except for his theory of Continental Drift, of course. (He’s the only person I know of who was saying before the Electoral College vote that it was going to be Clinton, not Trump, that would suffer from significant defections.) For some reason, the link to Jim Stone didn’t work in that comment. Maybe I mistyped, or maybe this website’s software doesn’t like being given the (numerical) I.P. address of a website. Jim’s website is actually http://82.221.129.208/ . He doesn’t use a normal alphabetic URL because he expects The Empire to soon start fiddling with the computers that resolve the human-friendly URLs into the numerical I.P.’s that you need for actual communication. He strongly advises owners of independent websites to ensure that there is a one-to-one correspondence between their domains and I.P. addresses, and to publicise the latter as well as the former. For details, go to the front page of his website (which is gigantic) and search for the sentence “The ip address will only work if the domain at that IP is dedicated to that IP only.” It might be worth the administrator of the Vineyard having a look. Probably he has, but haven’t we all?? False flag?? maybe, but, why, for what purpose and how?? Psy-OP? Definitely yes, (does not exclude false flag). There is a clear message here, from whom to whom is anybody’s guess ATM, but rest assured, the involved parties do know, and please do not exclude any party to be stage managers, (or part managers) in this event. Significant events like this, never happens randomly, and out of the blue, even if is appear so in the ever more fragmented societies in which we live. RMM on December 20, 2016 · at 8:18 pm EST/EDT Altıntaş is said to have earlier guarded the Russian embassy during the protests. This video (https://sputniknews.com/world/201612201048804218-ambassador-murder-video/) shows him walking up and down and fidgeting behind the Ambassador (there were other people standing close to him, including one before a mike, besides the Ambassador, while a woman who seemed to be taking notes.) The fact that no one tried to stop him may suggest he was recognised and assumed to be again on duty… Sound of gunshots comes before gun is clear to point and shoot. Sputnik link is to same video I linked to above, but at a different twitter account. My link from above https://twitter.com/Altmimy_1/status/811173402811781120 sound matches. All this rubbish about faked and stages is getting to be too much people As I listened to RT yesterday as this event unfolded it was reported, quite clearly two shots hit the ambassador- TWO SHOTS Because it’s reported that as many as 8 shots were fired does not mean the Ambassador was shot eight times! It simply means 8 shots were fired. Here is wsj http://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-ambassador-is-shot-in-turkish-capital-1482166062 “The video taken at the event shows Mr. Karlov at the podium surrounded by framed artwork and then physically flinching when two gunshots are fired at him apparently from behind” correlates with early reporting of the Ambassador taking two shots- not eight shots shrugs shoulders/disgusted He flinched and started moving to the side at the first shots, clearly in pain. A projectile then exited under his left shirt collar at which point he dropped. Later, not in the above videos, apparently the shooter stood over him and fired another one or two shots. PeterAU If it’s not in the video then we cannot know it took place- so we have verification of two shots hitting the Ambassador and that’s all we got- Which correlates with the reporting. Are we being serious here or just throwing out wild claims? Cause I’m being serious. Serious Penny? All we have is what is visible and audible on the videos. It was a media event, mostly media present, so a number available. Their have been different media reports that have changed over time. all that remains constant is the video/audio. Serious…. many are serious about their version. Peter AU “Later, not in the above videos, apparently the shooter stood over him and fired another one or two shots” Peter you claimed and I’ve quoted you- “later, not in the above video the shooter stood over him and fired another one or two shots” Is there video of these additional shots? I’ve not seen it. I’ve seen lots of video- had a video posted at my blog- google took it down- it did not show what you are alleging. Do leave a link if you can, I would appreciate that a great deal. I’m not accusing anyone of anything I’m just pointing out what we can know and what we can’t know via the video and audio We can’t assume hearing shots tells us those shots hit the Ambassador? They could have hit walls, ceilings other persons- as there were reports of 3 other persons injured. I’m talkin’ straightforward logic- for a claim of 8 shots being fired into the Ambassador there would minimally have to be video footage of 8 shots being fired at the Ambassador. And even if you had the type of footage you still could not assume every bullet hit the Ambassador- I’m a bit of a stickler for details. You might be right that he was only hit by two bullets, original reports said he was still alive. But there were other people on that stage, and another angle shows another body on the floor. Who were these people (other bodyguards?) What haven’t we heard about them? Earthrise: Correct it was not verified he was killed till sometime shortly after- I’ve seen the image of the other person on the floor- Don’t know if he was shot? Could be? Maybe he just hit the floor? It’s an unknown and should not be speculated on at all. This is how wild crazy gossip gets spread all over the place and will certainly get alternative sites shut down for spreading ‘false news’ Which is why I find it so maddening that so many are willing to gossip and spread hearsay without thought or comprehension of the potential ramifications of their actions Not you in particular – However all this drivel will give the state exactly what they want to shut the alt/independent media down Hi Moderator: I left my verification of two shots- hopefully that will clarify- there is also video which I’m off to find I’ve updated at my blog with the WSJ and when I have the video it will be at my blog too Thank you, Penny. I apologize if I seem snarky. Lots of idle speculation on the forum. And I am swamped with silliness. I do not number your post among it. I do feel that Saker’s post on the topic is quite exhaustive and perfectly logical. So, go for it. -fk mod Bingo! …squared. Thank you for that exhaustive analysis. You have really laid it out for all to see. More than I can say for some forums and all CIANN-controlled mass media. Talks-to-Cats on December 20, 2016 · at 9:24 pm EST/EDT Recall the assassination of the archduke in 1914 and you probably have the motivation behind this as well: to stampede the cattle into playing another round of “Let’s you and him fight” to benefit the conspirators. These people are programmed to be pattern-thinkers. Their repetition of the same few, stereotypical ploys eventually identifies them. (And being pattern-thinkers, as widely noted by now, when these tricks fail they can only “double down.” Creative imagination is not their strong suit). Note also the suspiciously high quality, professional image quality with ideal, black against white definition. This was designed for effective broadcast impact. http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/12/20/west-directed-killer-hand-assassination-russian-ambassador.html Russian lawmaker Alexey Pushkov, of the Duma’s foreign affairs committe, is correct when he said following the death of Andrey Karlov that the West bore responsibility because its hysteria and fabrications about events in Aleppo have fostered a climate of deranged hatred towards Russia. When the Turkish assassin raised his pointed gun at Karlov, he declared that he was acting in memory of “civilians killed in Allepo”. But who gave him the image of being a legitimate target for “payback”? Who filled his head with (false) images of carnage and horror against civilians in Aleppo? In answering those questions honestly, the conclusion is that Western governments, diplomats and media directed the gun that murdered ambassador Andrey Karlov. Finnian Cunningham. Excellent to see your appearance here, Mr. C; Isabella on December 21, 2016 · at 12:06 am EST/EDT Once again I see the “blame Russia” meme so common raises it’s ugly head here. I’d like to ask – how many Ambassadors get assassinated in the course of their duties? World wide? We actually dont’ see Ambassadors getting shot, stabbed or otherwise attacked on a daily basis .Even, dare I say, a yearly basis. The last Russian ambassador killed in the line of duty was, I think from memory, about 70 – 90 yrs ago. The thing is, there is a ‘deal’ that goes on around the world. It’s the same as the Foreign Embassy deal. A Russian embassy in Washington is, in fact, Russia. It’s Russian soil. This is accepted practice world wide. And its acceptance runs very deep. It’s why neither America nor UK would dream of invading the Ecuadorean Embassy to snatch Assange. Ecuador is tiny – but not the rest of the world combined, all of whom would jointly turn on anyone doing such a thing. Well, it’s pretty much the same with Ambassadors. They are their country. Notice that, in the case of the deliberate murder of 2 nurses, of the downing of a Russian jet liner with hundreds of Russian lives lost, there was not one word of sympathy from the rest of the world? Notice the outpouring of condemnation over this killing of one man, from just about everywhere? It’s because it has broken a universal law, that such must be held to be outside the range of any sort of activity, simply because World interaction of a civil nature depend on recognition of this law: that Embassies, their staff and Ambassadors are never to be touched. Every single country knows that once this rule is broached – if not vehemently protested, anyone of them, their Embassies and their Ambassadors, will be at risk. They depend on the trust engendered that Embassies, their staff and their Ambassador are inviolable. The world turned on Iran for ages for breaking that rule. So – it’s normal for Russia, along with all other nations, to believe that it would not be necessary to do more than post guard at the Embassy door. Moreover, this sacrosanct agreement states that the host country is responsible for all care of the Embassies and their staff. To have dressed the Ambassador up in bullet proof vest and make him be accompanied by armed Russian bodyguards is to tell the host country that it isn’t trusted. This completely wrecks any point in being there. There can be no negotiations, no fostering of good will and trust and amicable relations, which is the major job of Ambassadors to foreign countries. The atmosphere is wrecked before you start. Russia was entirely within it’s reasonable criteria of decision to accept it had to trust to Erdogan to protect the Embassy and it’s Ambassador, and that Erdogan, for all his apparent craziness, isn’t’ mad enough to broach this sacrosanct, world wide agreement. Who ever did this went way way beyond the pale – and they know it. Some retaliation will happen, somewhere somehow. And the rest of the world has to know it – they have to know what happens when you do this to Russia – or no Russian will be safe again anywhere. And that Putin cannot allow to happen. But please, at such a time, when once again Russia is under attack by the bastards of the West, when Putin and his team have once again a heartbreak to bear – stop this tiresome bloody Russia bashing. [And please, dont give me it’s “just reasonable criticism”. Is that what you do if a parents’ belief in trust of care means a child is killed?? Turn on them with criticism within the following 5 mins.? Give me break}. Right on, Isa Isabella, It’s a pity that there are not more people around here endowed with a clear mind like yours, who can express clear thoughts through words and not nightingale thrills at twilight. You are very kind Wiz Oz. Thank you. The fact that celebration of his death was allowed to run in a couple of US media outlets is beyond outrageous. The game is becoming more dangerous it seems to me. paul on December 21, 2016 · at 12:09 am EST/EDT Every player in the Syria game seems to be working on multiple levels of betrayal. Vor on December 21, 2016 · at 12:40 am EST/EDT “Evidently Karlov was not wearing any kind of body armor that day. Why? He did not have a single bodyguard next to him. Why? No Russian voices are heard on the video, so there appears to have been no Russian security anywhere near the ambassador. Why?” The answer is in the question, the ambassador clearly & evidently felt safe. The question I would then ask – why did the Russian ambassador to Turkey feel safe? Answer: Erdogan’s purge gave the diplomatic core a false sense of security, despite terrorist attacks elsewhere, they seem to have made a huge assumption that Russians would not be targeted & could not be targeted because Turkish security has got the country on lock down. Evidently not. The other reason is that SVR lacked intel that such an attack could/would happen. And this is shocking. Why? Because John Kirby at the US State Dept issued a threat recently about Russians returning home in body bags. The US just made real on that threat. It is clear as day to me that the US is behind it & obviously the CIA or their buddies at MI6 organised this through their jihadist proxies. There had to be a fair amount of logistical work put into the assassination plot, knowing the schedule of the ambassador, where he would be & when, what his security detail would or would not be. As Putin said, it is a provocation, & a threat to say if you (Russia) harm our operatives on the ground in East Aleppo, & anywhere else in Syria when/if you may come across them, we will act first preemptively. An obvious response to this would be to say that now Russia has an incentive to kill these agents in Aleppo, but that is exactly the point, they are being warned off. The Anglo-Amero empire is sending its message, we will hurt you bad if you continue to defy us. That is how I read this, as a kind of preemptive strike to make real on Kirby’s threat & also to warn Russia off from capturing & interrogating the intel operatives in Aleppo that have been cornered by the SAA. If I were an American ambassador anywhere, I would be afraid, very afraid. The protocol has been breached, and all hell is going to break loose… With the killer being in the police,some even say he had guarded events the Ambassador went to before. It wouldn’t have been hard to know events he might be at. This one was a public cultural event concerning Russia. It seems to me the killer/killers would have found it easy to know he would be there.I do agree that they had a false sense of safety about Turkish security. But if it was a “warning” to Russia. I seriously doubt the Russians will be “scared” over it.And decide to start “obeying” the US. They might remind the US as the general did when that subject came up a month or so ago. That “path” is a “two way” one. And they can strike US targets just as easily if they need to. Vor on December 21, 2016 · at 2:05 am EST/EDT I doubt that the Kremlin would be scared either, if this assassination was what I think it was, a warning, but that’s not the point anyway. It’s more specific than that, hence my reference to these agents in east Aleppo, I suspect that it is very specifically connected to that. I have know way of knowing that, it’s just a hunch, based on a bit of logical deduction. Let’s put it this way, unless it was a lone crazed gunman incident – which I personally absolutely reject – than this is a message of some sort, being sent to the Kremlin. So if I’m investigating this – & without divulging too much info I do have a vast amount of experience in criminal investigations – I would be asking the question: who is sending a message & why? It’s clearly to do with Syria, the rantings of the assassin gave that away & tell us that he in not a lone operative – just as an aside as well, why would Turkish security personnel have info about the Russian ambassador’s movements & whereabouts? I rule that out as well. So he is acting on someone else’s behalf, it’s to do with Syria – what? What just happened? East Aleppo has been almost entirely liberated, the die hards left over apparently consist of foreign operatives, according to al-Jafaari, Syria’s UN ambassador, the West has been going skitz about the fate of these operatives. It’s a big deal, as he himself stressed, because it’s smoking gun evidence that Western countries are directly working with terrorists, not indirectly, but directly, to the point where they have command-control functions. That opens up a can of worms. So I may be wrong, I could say a lot more, but this would turn into a technical analysis, those are just some of my thoughts on the matter for what it is worth. Frankly,I won’t believe the story on the agents until I see video of them captured. There are too many claims made by all sides to accept something on good faith. Even when we support the side making the claim. If we hear that they escaped later. Then I’m certainly going to think they never existed to begin with.Not that there might not have been agents there. But that they never were really identified or captured. Helen on December 21, 2016 · at 11:08 am EST/EDT UK has already admitted having both British SF soldiers directing artillery on the ground and RAF personnel directing targeting for Saudi jets in Yemen. I find it unlikely that they would balk at doing the same for their ‘moderate rebels’ in Syria, (in the humanitarian interests of spreading democracy, of course. /sarc. ) Vor on December 21, 2016 · at 1:54 pm EST/EDT I get your reasoning & normally would be inclined to agree, only in this case – where most of our opinions will be based on secondary & tertiary sources, rather than primary physical evidence in real time- the credibility of the source, for me, is a deciding factor in whether I take the claim seriously or not. In this case the source was Bashar al-Jafaari, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, whom I doubt would stake his credibility by making such a specific & detailed claim, to the point of reading names off a list, if there was little to it. So yes, there have been all kinds of conspiratorial claims over the years re: Syria, embedded US special forces with tattoos seen with ISIS, Mossad & IDF colonels captured by Iraqi military operating as ISIS commanders & the like.None of which, as far as I know, has ever been verified. Fars news agency puts out a lot of that kind of thing. But in this case I suspect the claim is credible, not only because it is being backed by al-Jafaari, but the logic of what he says makes sense, the West has gone ape over Aleppo & there is more to it than just the defeat of their proxies in strategically critical operational zone. Considering the fact that the UK military, & US are training jihadists in Jordan, & captured jihadists have testified to being flown to Qatar for training by US private military contractors, there is no doubt that there are many covert operatives on the ground in the ranks of the jihadists. The list is interesting because of the number of Saudis on it, I suspect one reason for this – other than the obvious support that KSA provides jihadist forces, is to ensure the safety of Western & Israeli embedded operatives, probably acting almost as bodyguards for them. With the US reneging on agreements, making all these threats and imposing sanctions, and demonizing Russia with lies, I think it’s now not possible to have normal diplomatic relations with the US — and there are signs than various countries are reaching that conclusion, and hetting on with business and diplomatic relations with the US left out. This might have ‘retaliation’ (for non-existent acts by Russia’, but at the least all the anti-Russia rhetoric and actions condone such violence by others, and encourage terrorists. Even with Trump becoming president, both the reactions against him, and the continuing presence of neocons/libs and war mongers, make clear that relations with the US are fraught with danger and treachery, and should be avoided. The US is a rogue state and in the process of making itself into a pariah. Look at the appalling http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/don-cry-russia-slain-envoy-putin-lackey-article-1.2917281 Assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was not terrorism, but retribution for Vladimir Putin’s war crimes From a major New York newspaper, calling the assassination ‘justice’ — quotes from the article are too disgusting to copy over to here. So this is the deranged US and it’s news media now, to a very great extent, where terrorism is officially and unofficially supported, by money, arms, military training, and propaganda, and lies, torture, and war crimes are the norm, and whose actions have unleashed violent chaos in Europe and around the world. The US must be quarantined. I agree with you. And if you’ll notice the reporter was “another” zionist Jew. They dominate the US press,and certainly the NY press. All, or almost all, are Russophobes. And those, like the author of that article are totally disreputable human beings. I would say that the American society suffers from many illnesses, but, after this sordid campaign, I can conclude that one of the most serious is clearly this obssesion in seeing all as a conspiracy, obviously fuelled in this craziness by interested parts who are not who the people are thinking they are, and are doing this with agenda, some of them from decades ago. Finally, I must say that I find all these speculations on the assassination of Mr. Karlov being a fake event as an unbearable disrespect to the widow, family and friends and by extension to all the Russian people. There is no more than to see that woman to understand that the man has really dead, but, obviously, to understand this is not at hand of everybody. So, yesterday, here it was not allowed to make any analysis and only give condolences, and today this? The degree of shamelessness in this blog is reaching umparalleled boundaries. Fair call Elsi, Maybe the mourning period was not enough. But in our post-Truth world, this kind of questioning is valid as we all decide collectively what is True. I don’t think it was faked, yet, but there are some questions to be asked. After 9/11, anyone blindly believing MSM reporting is part of the problem. The questioning is valuable, even if just as an opportunity to set the record straight. We are amateurs without solid information trying to discern a world we can’t see; reading tea leaves, watching shadows move and counting the number and spacing of ripples. It is only collectively we can discern the Truth, which is why I dare say most of us are here. Bless you Elsi, always of common sense and civilized perceptions. NY Daily News Joins Daesh in Celebrating Assassination of Andrey Karlov https://sputniknews.com/news/201612211048812179-ny-daily-news-celebrates-assassination/ “As world leaders and ordinary people expressed their horror following the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov, New York Daily News (NYDN) writer Gersh Kuntzmann openly celebrated the public execution, calling it an example of ‘justice [being] served.’ “As Vladimir Putin’s man in Turkey, Karlov was the public face of that murderous dictator’s war crimes around the globe and of oppression at home,” Kuntzmann wrote. “I, for one, am shedding no tears for Andrei Karlov.” Kuntzmann also repeatedly compared the assassination of Karlov to the killing of Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi German embassy official shot dead in 1938 by Jewish teenager Herschel Grynszpan, while also likening Vladimir Putin, the leader of the government that Karlov served, to the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler. “Like Karlov, Rath was the public face of atrocity — in this case, Adolf Hitler’s genocide, anti-Semitism and coming global aggression… [history] has vindicated Grynszpan — and, indeed, vindicated others who have fought against aggression and fought for freedom.” Jesus, what a subhuman futa chunk of govno this kuntzmann is. Tony G. on December 21, 2016 · at 3:20 am EST/EDT Saker, There is absolutely no distinction between Daesh and Co. and the USA/CIA. The former are mercenaries of the latter! Please, don’t nobody mention israel, or oded yinon, it might upset the Jewish zionazi pr machine. Thanks for your understanding in this delicate matter. You know those goys, they are so unpredictable and emotional, best leaving the important stuff to us, eh. Berlin on December 21, 2016 · at 7:09 am EST/EDT You all complicate too much. That guy 22 years old Turk committed the crime. Behind him was a terrorist “islamic” cell. The cell received order and money by a “person” who has links to MI5 or CIA. The culprits will never be found. The Russians don’t need the evidence, they know 100% that it was done by the UKUSA governments. I know too. The Natoists will try to muddy waters but will not succeed. Zhirinovski accused the British. NATO = North Atlantic Terrorist Organization. And don’t forget the US is the most important and the strongest member of the NATO. The most of people – when they say the NATO think without the USA, why?	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line540
__label__wiki	0.898019	0.898019	the tanjara first-ever anthology of Palestinian science fiction to be launched at British Library report by Susannah Tarbush, London Tomorrow evening at 19.00 the British Library in London is to host an event that should warm the hearts of lovers of Palestine literature and of science fiction alike – ‘Palestine 2048: Science Fiction and the Future Past’ . The event marks the London launch of Palestine + 100: Stories from a century after the Nakba (Comma Press), said to be the first ever anthology of SF from Palestine. The British Library describes the event as “an evening of Palestinian futurism celebrating the power of Science Fiction to shed new light on historical events and contemporary politics in the Middle East.” Manchester-based Comma Press published the book with assistance from Arts Council England and with an award from English Pen’s ‘PEN Translates’ programme. Six of the 12 stories were translated from Arabic, each by a different translator; the others were written in English. At the launch Comma’s founder and editorial manager Ra Page and the anthology’s editor Basma Ghalayini will chair a panel including two contributors to the book: British-Palestinian novelist Selma Dabbagh, author of Out of It, and Palestinian-Hungarian poet, journalist and novelist Anwar Hamed, author of eight Arabic novels. Hamed’s novel Jaffa Makes the Morning Coffee was longlisted for the 2013 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). Selma Dabbagh Ghalayini was born in Khan Younis, Gaza, and spent her childhood in the UK until the age of five before returning to Gaza. She has worked in various finance roles in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, and is also an Arabic translator and interpreter. She translated short fiction from Arabic for the KFW Stifflung series Beirut Short Stories, and for Comma projects including Banthology and The Book of Cairo (edited by Raph Cormack). The 12 Palestinian authors commissioned to write stories for the anthology have risen to the challenge of producing SF stories set in 2048 with zest, imagination and ingenuity. Some had written SF previously; for others it was a new field of writing. Of course, this raises the perennial question of what distinguishes SF from the closely related genres of speculative fiction, magic realism, fantasy, surrealism, ghost stories and so on. The Nakba is the 1948 'catastrophe' in which more than 700,000 Palestinians – some 80 per cent of the total –were expelled from Palestine during the establishing of Israel. Ghalayini writes in her insightful introduction to the anthology that the Nakba did not end in 1948. “Since then, countless Israeli government policies have furthered this gradual ethnic cleansing." The ‘ongoing Nakba’ is “continually evolving. We are forever entering new stages of it…” The anthology is dedicated to the memory of Tom Hurndall, the British photography student who was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in Gaza in April 2003, dying in the UK in January 2004 without regaining consciousness. The stories in Palestine + 100 extrapolate from the often bizarre and disturbing reality in which Palestinians live today: advanced Israeli weapons, surveillance, cyber warfare, drones, separation walls, increasing pollution and attempts to stifle or wipe out history. To judge by the stories, the Palestinian predicament lends itself well to SF,and perhaps increasingly so. There has always been something surreal and fantastical about the Palestinians' history in the 20th and 21st centuries - for example in the condition of being "present absentees". Basma Ghalayini As Ghalayini points out SF “uses the future as a blank canvas on which to project concerns that occupy society right now The real future - the actual future – is unknowable. But for SF writers, the mere idea of ‘things to come’ is licence to re-imagine, re-configure, and re-interrogate the present.” However, she observes that the SF genre “has never been particularly popular among Palestinian authors; it is a luxury, to which Palestinians haven’t felt they can afford to escape. The cruel present (and the traumatic past) have too firm a grip on Palestinian writers’ imaginations for fanciful ventures into possible futures.” She suggests that another reason SF has not been popular among Palestinian writers is that it doesn’t offer an obvious fit with the Palestinian situation. “In classic SF, the battle lines are drawn quickly and simply: the moral opposition between a typical SF protagonist and the dystopia or enemy he finds himself confronting is a diametric one. "But in Palestinian fiction, the idea of an ‘enemy’ is largely absent. Israelis hardly ever feature as individuals, and when they do they are rarely portrayed as out and out villains.” She cites as an example Ghassan Kanafani's novel Returning to Haifa. Anwar Hamed Anwar Hamed’s tale “The Key”, translated by Andrew Leber, is told from the perspective of Israelis anxious about the rusty old keys Palestinians in refugee camps retain from the homes in Palestine they were forced to leave. "My grandfather feared those photographs of people holding keys more then any arms deal being signed by neighbouring countries" says the main character of the story. His grandfather had developed the idea of a transparent "gravity wall" to keep out those without the right 'code'. But now, on the centenary of Israel's establishment, ghostly presences are making themselves felt through the sounds of keys turning in locks. Selma Dabbagh's savvy and in places hilarious story "Sleep it Off, Doctor Schott" tells of a suspected emotional relationship between two middle-aged scientists, Gaza-born Professor Mona Kamal and her co-worker, Tel Aviv born Dr Eyal Schott, who are being spied on by young Layla in her capacity as a "Recorder". The scientists work in the privileged 'Secular Scientific Enclave'. Professor Kamal had been a hero to Layla as a girl growing up in a refugee camp, for her creation of a "bot army" that burst through the borders in 2032. The story is written in the form of dialogue, and one could imagine it making an entertaining radio play. Saleem Haddad The anthology's opening story is Saleem Haddad’s poignant“Song of the Birds”. Haddad gained international recognition with his debut novel Guapa, which has a gay central character. It won The 2017 Polari Prize and was awarded a Stonewall honour. "Song of the Birds" was written in memory of Mohannad Younis a Gazan writer and pharmacy postgraduate who killed himself in August 2017 at the age of 22. Younis was seen as a symbolic of the wave of young Gazans killing themselves over the hopelessness of their situation. The main character of the story is 14-year-old Aya whose beloved brother Ziad killed himself the previous year. Ziad starts to appear to her in dreams, and she keeps having visions of war, destruction and ruined buildings. When she is swimming in the sea it suddenly becomes full of "bottles, soiled tissue paper, plastic bags and rotting animal carcasses". It is all a total contrast to her actual Gaza City neighbourhood with "its wide leafy streets, exquisite limestone buildings, quaint cafes and vintage furniture shops". Ziad reveals to her that the horrific visions she has been experiencing are the "real Palestine" and that what she ha been living in is in fact a simulation. "They've harnessed our collective memory, creating a digital image of Palestine. And that's where you live." While the older generation spend a lot of time asleep, "it is up to us to develop new forms of resistance." Like Haddad, Mazen Maarouf has a growing international profile, with his short story collection Jokes for the Gunmen (Granta Books), translated by Jonathan Wright, longlisted earlier this year for the International Booker Prize. Maarouf’s story "The Curse of the Mud Ball Kid", translated by Wright, is at 43 pages by far the longest story in Palestine +100. Mazen Maarouf The complex story portrays a dystopia in which the Palestinians had all been forced southwards and were no longer called Palestinians but Falasta. In 2037 a hitherto untested biological warfare munition was launched, programmed to identify and kill the Falastis and within three weeks there was no Falasti left except for the narrator of the story. The narrator says: “I’ve always wanted to be a superhero. I didn’t want to save the world, or even save all the children of Falasta. I just wanted to save my sister when they came to steal her imagination.” The stolen imaginations of Palestinian children are gathered into a satellite named the Dabraya Star. Being the last Palestinian the narrator is confined within a glass cube and transported on a motor bike by Ze’ev, whom he had fist met in an orphanage. “Every week we go to a primary school in a kibbutz or a town we haven’t visited before. Ze’ev puts me on display in front of the schoolkids in the playground for half an hour. None of them have ever seen a Palestinian before.” In her story "Commonplace" Gaza-based Rawan Yagh conjures up a ghastly cityscape. Adam, a dealer in sedative drugs, known euphemistically as "grapes", lives in an area constantly under attack by swarms of drones from over the wall. The drones plant explosive devices on roofs, destroying whole buildings. Adam has been traumatised by the death of his quirky sister Rahaf. after she was attacked by a drone. The story sees him embarking on a desperate mission. Questions of memory and history echo through the anthology. In Samir El-Youssef's story "The Association", translated by Raph Cormack, there has been a 2028 Agreement under which “the people of the country – all the different sects and religions, Muslim, Christian and Jewish – had decided that forgetting was the best way to live in peace. The study of the past is forbidden.” In 2048 an eager young journalist investigates the assassination of a Palestinian history professor. Those who oppose the Agreement and seek to investigate and record the past are regarded as extremists: they are said to have dozens of different groups such as the Jidar "who harboured evidence of the effects of the near 20-year blockade of Gaza." . It appears that the Professor's views on Palestinian history may be connected to his murder. Abdalmuti Maqboul plays with time in his searing story "Personal Hero", translated by Yasmine Seale. Time runs in reverse, bodies arise from graveyards, and the great Palestinian was hero Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni comes back to life one hundred years after his death in battle on 8 April 1948. The story is skilfully unfolded towards an unexpected ending. In "Vengeance" Tasnim Abutabikh combines environmental concerns with a story of revenge for a historical wrong involving land sales in Palestine. Carbon dioxide levels are rising and global temperatures have soared. In rich countries people live in air-filtered biospheres but in poorer areas such as Gaza people have to wear lifemasks with filtering systems, just a flick of a switch away from death. The classic SF trope of a monster landing from outer space appears in Talal Abu Shawish's "Final Warning"in translation by Mohamed Ghalaieny. The creature lands in Ramallah, darkening the sky and knocking out power and communication systems. The local Christian Father, Muslim Imam and Jewish Rabbi join hands and chant to terrified crowds, with some people thinking that Judgment Day has arrived. Eventually the creature addresses the people and warns them they have one last chance to rectify their behaviour. "Your struggles in this tiny sector of the planet's surface have, for more than a hundred of your planet's orbits, cause more tension and conflict, directly and indirectly beyond its borders than any other area of its size in the known universe... By continuing to threaten the planet's stability as a whole, you also threaten the wider galaxy's stability... " In “Application 39” UK-based Gazan novelist, dramatist and dance promoter Ahmed Masoud envisages a Palestine divided into independent statelets. After the collapse of the Oslo Accord and the 2025 Israeli invasion, each major Palestinian city had been forced to declare itself an independent state. These republics are linked by a network of tunnels and lifts. From time to time the cities fought each other, but in 2030 a peace deal between the states was signed. In 2040 mischief makers Ismael and Rayyan, young friends in the Republic of Gaza, carry out a hoax they call “Operation Application 39”, in which they submit an application from the Republic to host the 39th Summer Olympic Games in 2048, forging the President of the Republic's signature. The hoax is uncovered after the IOC writes an enthusiastic letter of acceptance to the president, saying to hold the Olympics in the Republic of Gazawould seal the peace deal of 2030. But a woman official of the Republic warns Ismael and Rayyan that this "could lead to another war here...with Khan Younis, or Rafah, or even Ramallah." Nor will Israel be happy, and it might start a bombing campaign, leading to a regional war. Masoud fully develops the potential of this scenario in a lively narrative. Majd Kayyal was born in Haifa to a displaced family from the village of Birwa. His first novel The Tragedy of Mr Matar (El Ahlia 2016) won the Qattan Young Writer of the Year Award, and his first collection of short stories Death in Haifa came out this year. In his compelling story "N" translated by Thoraya El-Rayyes Kayyal creates two separate worlds existing simultaneously, one Palestinian, the other Israeli. The story focuses on a father, who lives in the Palestinian world, and his son "N". There has been a peace Agreement between the two sides under which only those born after the Agreement, such as "N", are allowed to travel between the two worlds. The father watches a PhotonTransit system which conveys his son back to Israel and produces "a spectacular flash of light. It's unlike any other light I've seen, a light we don't know the source or path of, which swallows our children to over there, to the other there." The story references Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s film The Time that Remains. “Father and son fishing at night under military surveillance. I grew to love that dialogue,” muses the father. "N" returns with his partner Nada to live in the Palestinian world “I don’t know if all the Palestinians who stayed in the Israeli world maintained their identity like this, but this Nada, she’s very special," the father thinks. "You can see a profound sadness in her that hasn’t healed.” The Cairo-based academic, journalist and translator Emad El-Din Aysha was born in the UK to a Palestinian father from the Akka region. He is an avid fan of history and SF, and has published fiction and essays on Arab and Muslim SF. His humorous story "Digital Nation" is set as Israel's centenary Independence Day approaches. The Palestinians “hadn’t had a single state to govern for a long time. Instead they made do with a series of banana republics. Literally, they grew bananas on the slopes of Ramallah – as well as mangos in Judea and pineapples in Samaria.” The protagonist of story, the ageing Asa Shomer, is Director of the Israeli security service. Shabak. He faces a security crisis in that a highly sophisticated hacker Shabak has nicknamed Hannibal is "destabilising the stock market, hijacking media outlets, hacking servers... these are all issues of national security," an aide tells Shomer. Old-fashioned Shomer is nostalgic for “good old fashioned-terrorism” rather than cybercrime. “But who could believe an Arab would be capable of such ingenuity: a vision of a united Palestinian State, simmed so perfectly and in such detail, then virus-leaked into every VR console on the Israeli market…” He is alarmed by the Palestinian Utopia portrayed by the hack: "Hope was contagious." and "who needed to 'liberate' Palestine if you could convert Israel into Palestine?"The virus spreads and spreads, right up to Israel's Independence Day. The publication of Palestine + 100 follows Comma Press's first anthology of specially commissioned Arab SF - the acclaimed Iraq + 100: stories from a century after the invasion edited by Hassan Blasim and published in 2016. Comma has been making a major contribution to the translation and publication of Arabic literature, particularly short stories. It's newest collection of short stories from Palestine is The Sea Clock & Other Stories by Gazan author Nayrouz Qarmout ,winner of a 'PEN Translates' award. Comma is - most deservedly - currently shortlisted for the Arab British Centre Award for Culture, with the winner due to be announced on 26 September. Posted by starbush at 6:29 PM No comments: starbush first-ever anthology of Palestinian science fictio... 7iber.com al-bab.com arabisto banipal daily star lebanon Nick Possum home page reem kelani saudi gazette abu aardvark ali abdulemam Anissa's blog apartheid blog of qumsiyeh arabist network baheyya driven by curiosity english pen world atlas blog friday in cairo guardian books blog healing iraq imtidad khadija teri [libya] levantine dreamhouse lone highlander misr digital olfa jami peter stodhard randa jarrar sabria's out of the box salam pax saudi woman secret dubai diary	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line543
__label__wiki	0.571108	0.571108	calories in duck duck nutrition facts protein in duck carbs in duck fat in duck sugar in duck sodium in duck potassium in duck saturated fat in duck cholesterol in duck magnesium in duck iron in duck fiber in duck calcium in duck zinc in duck vitamin a in duck vitamin d in duck vitamin k in duck vitamin b12 in duck vitamin b6 in duck folic acid in duck riboflavin in duck phosphorus in duck niacin in duck thiamine in duck Home / Nutrition / Vitamin C / duck Amount of Vitamin C in Duck Welcome to the nutritional vitamin c content in 11 different types of duck, ranging from 6.2 mg to 0 mg per 100g. The basic type of duck is Duck, domesticated, liver, raw, where the amount of vitamin c in 100g is 4.5 mg. 4.5 mg of vitamin c per 100g, from Duck, domesticated, liver, raw corresponds to 8% of the vitamin c RDA. For a typical serving size of 1 liver (or 44 g) the amount of Vitamin C is 1.98 mg. This corresponds to an RDA percentage of 3%. Top five duck products high in vitamin c Below is a summary list for the top five duck items ranked by the amount or level of vitamin c in 100g. 1. Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw : 6.2mg (10%RDA) 2. Duck, domesticated, meat only, raw : 5.8mg (10%RDA) 3. Duck, wild, meat and skin, raw : 5.2mg (9%RDA) 4. Duck, domesticated, liver, raw : 4.5mg (8%RDA) 5. Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, breast, meat only, boneless, cooked without skin, broiled : 3.2mg (5%RDA) Following on from the five top duck items or products containing vitamin c we have a more comprehensive break down of Duck, domesticated, liver, raw, and the highest item containing vitamin c which is Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw. We also give a comparison of average values, median values and lowest values along with a comparison with other food groups and assess the effects of storage and preparation on the 11 types of duck. At the bottom of the page is the full list for the 11 different types of duck based on the content in different servings in grams and oz (and other serving sizes), providing a comprehensive analysis of the vitamin c content in duck. Duck, domesticated, liver, raw - Nutritional Content and Chart The full nutrition content, RDA percentages and levels for Duck, domesticated, liver, raw should be considered along with the vitamin c content. This food profile is part of our list of food and drinks under the general group Poultry Products.Other important and vitamin c related nutrients are Calories, Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate. For this 100g serving in your diet, the amount of Calories is 136 kcal (7% RDA), the amount of Protein is 18.74 g (33% RDA), the amount of Fat is 4.64 g (7% RDA) and the amount of Carbohydrate is 3.53 g (3% RDA). The nutritional content and facts for 100g, which includes Calories, Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate is shown in the RDA chart below as percentages of the recommended daily allowance along with the vitamin c levels in duck. Our proprietary nutritional density score gives a nutritional value out of 100 based on 9 different vitamins, minerals and macro nutrients. Duck, domesticated, liver, raw has a nutritional value score of 20 out of 100.Comparing the vitamin c content and the nutritional density in 100g for Duck, domesticated, liver, raw; We class this as a medium to low vitamin c content item.In terms of overall nutritional value we class this as an item with a medium nutritional density value. Comparing vitamin c in duck vs an orange The amount of vitamin c in an orange is 53.2 mg per 100g.As vitamin c percentage of the RDA this is 89 %. Comparing with Duck, domesticated, liver, raw, in 100g contains 4.5 mg of vitamin c. As a percentage of the RDA this is 8 %. Therefore, an orange has 48.7 mg more vitamin c than Duck, domesticated, liver, raw. In terms of vitamin c percentage this is 1082 % more vitamin c. An orange has an overall nutritional value score of 27 out of 100, whereas Duck, domesticated, liver, raw has a nutritional value score of 20 out of 100. The highest content of vitamin c in the food items under the general description or type of duck, is Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw with 6.2 mg of vitamin c per 100g. Comparing an orange with Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw; an orange has 47 mg more vitamin c than Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw. In terms of vitamin c percentage this is 758 % more vitamin c. 100 calories of duck, domesticated, liver, raw is a serving size of 0.74 g, and the amount of Vitamin C is 3.31 mg (5.88% RDA). Other important and related nutrients and macronutrients such as Fat, in 100 Calories are as follows; Protein 13.78 g (24.26% RDA), Fat 3.41 g (5.15% RDA), Carbohydrate 2.6 g (2.21% RDA). This is shown in the vitamin c RDA percentage chart below, based on 100 Calories, along with the other important nutrients and macro nutrients. Content per Typical Serving Size 1 liver (or 44 g) For the food Duck, domesticated, liver, raw the typical serving size is 1 liver (or 44 g) which contains 1.98 mg of Vitamin C. The vitamin c percentage of the recommended daily value for this serving is 3 %. To give 100% of the RDA, 33.3 servings of the typical serving size 1 liver (or 44 g) give the complete RDA. In terms of the gram weight and total content for this serving the Calories content is 59.84 kcal, the Protein content is 8.25 g, the Fat content is 2.04 g and the Carbohydrate content is 1.55 g. The percentages are shown below in the vitamin c chart, for the typical serving of vitamin c and the related and important nutritional values. Macronutrients in Duck, domesticated, liver, raw The amount of protein, fat and carbs from this food described above is measured in grams per 100g and grams in a typical serving size (in this case 1 liver or 44 g), although it is also useful to give the number of calories from protein, fat and carbohydrate which are the most important macronutrients. For this serving in your diet here are the macronutrient calories. From protein the number of calories is 35.2 (kcal).The number of calories from Fat is 18.4 (kcal).The total calories from carbohydrate is 6.0 (kcal). Milligrams of vitamin c in duck (per 100g) This list of 11 types of duck, is brought to you by www.dietandfitnesstoday.com and ranges from Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw through to Duck, domesticated, meat only, cooked, roasted where all food items are ranked by the content or amount per 100g. The nutritional vitamin c content can be scaled by the amount in grams, oz or typical serving sizes. Simply click on a food item or beverage from the list at the bottom of the page to give a full dietary nutritional breakdown to answer the question how much vitamin c in duck. The list below gives the total vitamin c content in the 11 items from the general description 'duck' each of which show the vitamin c amount as well as Calories, Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate. Below, is the top 11 food items shown in the vitamin c chart. This gives a quick and easy dietary comparison for the different items, where each item is listed at the bottom of the page with a nutritional summary. The corresponding nutritional value for duck based on our density score out of 100 (ranked by the amount of vitamin c per 100g) is shown in the below nutritional density chart. The corresponding Calories for duck ranked by the amount of vitamin c per 100g is shown below in the duck calories chart. The level of vitamin c can be affected by the method of storage for example canned or frozen and also by the method of preparation for example either raw, cooked or fried. The total food items which are raw is 5 items. The highest amount of vitamin c from the 5 raw items is in Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw where the content is 6.2 mg per 100g. The number of food items which are cooked are 6 items. The highest amount of vitamin c from the 6 cooked items is in Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, breast, meat only, boneless, cooked without skin, broiled where the amount is 3.2 mg per 100g. Comparing raw and cooked duck shows that cooking can change the levels of vitamin c by 3 mg in a 100g serving. Average Content for duck The average (or more correctly the arithmetic mean) amount of vitamin c contained in 100g of duck, based on the list below of 11 different items under the general description of duck, is 3.12 mg of vitamin c. This average value corresponds to 5.2 % of the recommended dietary allowance (or RDA) in your diet. The averages for the different nutrients are as follows; the average amount of Calories is 207.64 kcal, the average amount of Protein is 21.47 g, the average amount of Fat is 12.69 g and the average amount of Carbohydrate is g. The median value of Vitamin C is found in Duck, domesticated, meat and skin, raw which in 100g contains 2.8 mg of Vitamin C. This corresponds to 5 % of the recommended daily allowance. For this serving the amount of Calories is 404 kcal, the amount of Protein is 11.49 g, the amount of Fat is 39.34 g and the amount of Carbohydrate is 0 g. Using the list below for the 11 different duck nutrition entries in our database, the highest amount of vitamin c is found in Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw which contains 6.2 mg of vitamin c per 100g. The associated percentage of RDA is 10 %. For this 100g serving the Calories content is 123 kcal, the Protein content is 19.85 g, the Fat content is 4.25 g, the Carbohydrate content is 0 g. The lowest amount of vitamin c in 100g is in Duck, domesticated, meat only, cooked, roasted which contains 0 mg. This gives as percentage of the recommended daily allowance 0 % of the RDA. For this 100g serving the amount of Calories is 201 kcal, the amount of Protein is 23.48 g, the amount of Fat is 11.2 g, the amount of Carbohydrate is 0 g. The difference between the highest and lowest values gives a vitamin c range of 6.2 mg per 100g. The range for the other nutrients are as follows; 78 kcal for Calories, 3.63 g for Protein, 6.95 g for Fat, 0 g for Carbohydrate. Please remember that the above gives an accurate value in 100g for high vitamin c foods in your diet. For example 100g of Duck, domesticated, liver, raw contains 4.5 mg of vitamin c. However, there are other factors to consider when you are assessing your nutritional requirements. You should also take into account portion sizes when you are considering the vitamin c nutritional content. The food with the highest vitamin c content per typical serving is Duck, wild, meat and skin, raw which contains 12.43 mg in 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook duck) (or 239 g). The percentage of the recommended daily value for this serving is 21 %. For this serving the Calories content is 504.29 kcal, the Protein content is 41.63 g, the Fat content is 36.33 g and the Carbohydrate content is 0 g. From the list below you can find a full nutrition facts breakdown for all foods containing vitamin c which can be scaled for different servings and quantities. We have also sorted our complete nutritional information and vitamin database of over 7000 foods, to give a list of high content of vitamin c in foods. Duck List, vitamin c Content per 100g 1. Duck, wild, breast, meat only, raw - Vitamin C Nutritional Value : 16 / 100 food group - Poultry Products 6.2 mg (10%) 123 kcal (6%) 0 g (0%) 4.25 g (7%) 19.85 g (35%) Typical Serving size of 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook duck) (or 73g): 4.53 mg (8%) 89.79 kcal (4%) 0 g (0%) 3.1 g (5%) 14.49 g (26%) Other serving sizes .5 breast and bone and skin removed (or 83g): 2. Duck, domesticated, meat only, raw - Vitamin C 5.8 mg (10%) 135 kcal (7%) 0.94 g (1%) 5.95 g (9%) 18.28 g (33%) Typical Serving size of 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook duck) (or 137g): 7.95 mg (13%) 184.95 kcal (9%) 1.29 g (1%) 8.15 g (13%) 25.04 g (45%) Other serving sizes .5 duck (or 303g): 17.57 mg (29%) 409.05 kcal (20%) 2.85 g (2%) 18.03 g (28%) 55.39 g (99%) 3. Duck, wild, meat and skin, raw - Vitamin C 5.2 mg (9%) 211 kcal (11%) 0 g (0%) 15.2 g (23%) 17.42 g (31%) 12.43 mg (21%) 504.29 kcal (25%) 0 g (0%) 36.33 g (56%) 41.63 g (74%) 14.04 mg (23%) 569.7 kcal (28%) 0 g (0%) 41.04 g (63%) 47.03 g (84%) 4. Duck, domesticated, liver, raw - Vitamin C 4.5 mg (8%) 136 kcal (7%) 3.53 g (3%) 4.64 g (7%) 18.74 g (33%) Typical Serving size of 1 liver (or 44g): 1.98 mg (3%) 59.84 kcal (3%) 1.55 g (1%) 2.04 g (3%) 8.25 g (15%) Other serving sizes 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook duck) (or 10g): 0.45 mg (1%) 13.6 kcal (1%) 0.35 g (0%) 0.46 g (1%) 1.87 g (3%) 5. Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, breast, meat only, boneless, cooked without skin, broiled - Vitamin C 3.2 mg (5%) 140 kcal (7%) 0 g (0%) 2.5 g (4%) 27.6 g (49%) Typical Serving size of 1 cup and chopped or diced (or 174g): 5.57 mg (9%) 243.6 kcal (12%) 0 g (0%) 4.35 g (7%) 48.02 g (86%) 1.41 mg (2%) 61.6 kcal (3%) 0 g (0%) 1.1 g (2%) 12.14 g (22%) 3.04 mg (5%) 133 kcal (7%) 0 g (0%) 2.38 g (4%) 26.22 g (47%) 6. Duck, domesticated, meat and skin, raw - Vitamin C 8.04 mg (13%) 1159.48 kcal (58%) 0 g (0%) 112.91 g (174%) 32.98 g (59%) 17.75 mg (30%) 2561.36 kcal (128%) 0 g (0%) 249.42 g (384%) 72.85 g (130%) 7. Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, breast, meat and skin, boneless, cooked, roasted - Vitamin C Other serving sizes .5 breast and bone removed (or 120g): 3.36 mg (6%) 242.4 kcal (12%) 0 g (0%) 13.02 g (20%) 29.4 g (53%) 8. Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, leg, meat only, bone in, cooked without skin, braised - Vitamin C 2.3 mg (4%) 178 kcal (9%) 0 g (0%) 5.96 g (9%) 29.1 g (52%) Typical Serving size of 1 cup chopped or diced and cooked (or 174g): 0.81 mg (1%) 62.3 kcal (3%) 0 g (0%) 2.09 g (3%) 10.19 g (18%) Other serving sizes 1 leg and bone and skin removed (or 75g): 9. Duck, young duckling, domesticated, White Pekin, leg, meat and skin, bone in, cooked, roasted - Vitamin C Typical Serving size of 1 leg and bone removed (yield after cooking) (or 92g): 0.65 mg (1%) 93.31 kcal (5%) 0 g (0%) 4.9 g (8%) 11.5 g (21%) 1.28 mg (2%) 184.45 kcal (9%) 0 g (0%) 9.69 g (15%) 22.74 g (41%) 10. Duck, domesticated, meat and skin, cooked, roasted - Vitamin C 0 mg (0%) 337 kcal (17%) 0 g (0%) 28.35 g (44%) 18.99 g (34%) 0 mg (0%) 471.8 kcal (24%) 0 g (0%) 39.69 g (61%) 26.59 g (47%) Other serving sizes 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook duck) (or 173g): 0 mg (0%) 1287.34 kcal (64%) 0 g (0%) 108.3 g (167%) 72.54 g (130%) 11. Duck, domesticated, meat only, cooked, roasted - Vitamin C 0 mg (0%) 201 kcal (10%) 0 g (0%) 11.2 g (17%) 23.48 g (42%)	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line549
__label__cc	0.721377	0.278623	Frid’Eh Update #2 Presented by Yamaha Motor Canada January 10, 2020 Features, Frid'EH Update Bigwave Week #2 belongs to Florida rider, Matt Georke. \| Bigwave photo Welcome to Week #2 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update presented by Yamaha Motor Canada. Here in Southwestern Ontario we were riding at our local tracks last Friday, then we got snow, and now it’s 8 degrees Celsius and green again. It’s been a really strange winter so far in these parts. And it’s supposed to be 10 tomorrow! Career #2 belongs to the 3-time Canadian MX champion from Florida, Matt Goerke. Matt headed into the 2019 season with high hopes of getting himself on the top step of the podium at the end of the long season, but battled one issue after another every step pf the way. Recently, he was hurt pretty badly at an off season German Supercross that left him with broken bones in his back. It’s not the kind of thing a veteran racer wants to have to deal with, but it’s a real and scary part of our sport. Here’s a look at his 2019 Rockstar Energy Triple Crown season on his Monster Energy Alpinestars Piller’s Kawasaki: Truthfully, I forgot he did as well as he did, because he had to fight through quite a few things over the course of the season. Matt is now at home in Panama City Beach, Florida, getting himself back to the point where he can get back on the bike and get ready to race the final season in his current contract. I got in touch with him earlier in the week, and this is what he had to say: Here’s what Matt had to say. \| Bigwave photo Direct Motocross: Hello, Matt. Let’s start at the beginning and tell everyone how you first got into the sport when you were a kid? Matt Goerke: My parents got me a bike when I was about 4 or 5 years old, and I’ve been doing it ever since. What was your first number and why did you choose it? My first number was 210. That was my dad’s number when he raced. I ran that for a couple years, then I switched to number 89. That was one of Grandpa’s pro football numbers. And I ran that and 189 for the rest of my amateur career. Who did you come up through the amateur ranks racing against? I grew up racing against Millsaps, Skinner, Johnson, Chisholm, Boni, Davalos. And at the amatuer Nationals I raced Alessi and Grant also. Watching Matt ride at Gopher Dunes is like watching something from out of this world! He’s pretty good in the sand is what I’m saying. \| Bigwave photo What was your biggest success as an amateur? Probably my 2 Loretta Lynns titles. I won the Supermini class (2002) and the 250 A Pro Sport (2004). What year did you turn Pro and how did that season go? I raced a couple Pro races in 2004 as an amateur. My best was Southwick and I got a top 10 the 2nd moto. I think I was 5th most of the race, but my pipe broke off at the end of the moto, but still held on for a top 10. My first full season was 2005. I raced for Motoworld Suzuki. I got hurt in SX, but came back for outdoors on the 450 and got some top 10’s. My best race was a 4th in a moto at Millville. You’ve been around quite a long time. Could you pick one memory from racing that stands out as a highlight? It’s hard to pick one. My first SX podium in Atlanta 2007 was pretty cool. My 450 National win at Southwick was great! And all 3 of my Canadian Championships felt great! [Here’s the YouTube video of Matt taking 3rd in the 250 “Lites” Main in Atlanta in 2007. Ryan Dungey won and Canadian Darcy Lange took 2nd.] What brought you north to Canada in the first place? I had a SX-only ride for 2011 and Jason Hughes called me to come ride up there for the Leading Edge Kawasaki team. I ended up having a bad injury in SX so came into MX injured. I struggled to finish races in the first half of the series, but the 2nd half I got a win at Gopher, and a few podiums. I also won Montreal SX that year. The next year I rode for that same team and we won 16 out of 18 motos and Montreal SX again. It was a good year! Matt got the call to head north in 2011. I think this is the first shot I ever took of him at one of our MX Nationals. It was at the Wastelands in Nanaimo and this was first practice. \| Bigwave 2011 photo Let’s talk about last season. I don’t think I’d be saying too much to say that it was a tough year for you. Can you take us through the season? Yeah, it didn’t go as planned, but I feel my riding was good. I just had a lot of mechanicals because of the new bike and 2 injuries. I still tied for the most race wins in the Triple Crown Series with 4. And there were only 4 MX races where I didn’t have a DNF and I won 2 of those 4. I’m probably the only one that would look at these stats, but if you give me what position I was in before each DNF, I would have been right in the hunt for the Championship outdoors going into the final round. Same with 2018. I was right in the Championship hunt before my DNF that year, too. For this year my team has made some big changes with the bike, and I’m really looking forward to 2020! 2019 was a tough season for Matt with some highs but a few too many lows. \| Bigwave photo What did you get up to when the Canadian SX season ended? I went to race the German Supercross series Then you got pretty badly hurt over there. Can you tell us what happened and what your injuries were? Yeah, I had a bad crash in practice at the 2nd round and broke my back and collarbone. I had to get surgery on both in Germany, and stayed there in the hospital for 11 days. Yikes. How are you feeling now, and what does the near future look like for you? When are you back on a bike? I’m feeling pretty good now. I’m anxious to start doing more stuff. At first I thought I might be done and it sounds so scary with the back, but surgery went great and I didn’t have any complications after surgery. So I’m healing fast and my spine doctor thinks, if everything keeps going how it is, I should be able to ride in March. You’ve got one year left on your contract. What’s the goal for 2020? Same as always, to win! Matt is a 3-time Canadian MX Champion. \| Bigwave 2017 photo I’m not sure you’re ready to talk about this, but what’s the plan after this coming season? I don’t know? No use making a plan or thinking about that, because you never know whats going to happen. So I’m just focused on being prepared for this year and see where I’m at the end of the season. Hey, are you all back to normal at your place in Panama City Beach after all the storm damage? Definitely not back to normal, but it’s getting there. OK, I could ask you a million more questions, but we’ll end it there. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Good luck getting back at it and who would you like to thank? Thanks! I’d like to thank my whole team: Monster Energy Canada, Kawasaki Canada, Pro Circuit, Piller’s Fine Foods, Parts Canada, Thor, A-Stars, Dunlop, Renthal, LimeNine, Acerbis, D.I.D, VP Race Fuels, Xtrig Racing Technology, Hinson Clutch Components, Matrix Concepts, Motion Pro, GUTS Seats, Dubya, Works Connection, ARC Levers, Mechanix Wear, Twin Air, Maxima Oil, Superlight Titanium, Light Speed Carbon, Braking Brakes, CRM Carbon Tanks, Boxo Tools, Moto Option, Rockwelltime, Pelican Cases, Atlas Brace, 100 Percent, Matrix concepts, Beachside Snacks, and Doc Edwards Fitness. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us this week, Matt. Good luck with your recovery and with the upcoming season. Oh, and I noticed you thanked Thor in that new list. I guess we’ll watch for the Press Release in the coming weeks. Wink, wink. Week #2 is presented by Yamaha Motor Canada. OK, so we’re heading into Round 2 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series this week in St Louis. Last week was an interesting one at the season opener at A1, with Justin Barcia backing up his mid race win from last year at Angel’s Stadium. Rookie 450 rider Adam Cianciarulo proved his MEC win was no fluke and looked to have the main in the bag until an error handed the win back to Barcia. Actually, a few years ago, AC’s night probably would have been over as Justin came back on the track after his excursion and looked to be considering punting AC into next week before deciding agains the mid-2010’s JB treatment. Defending champion Cooper Webb had a bad flu last week but still managed to hold on to a podium position in 3rd. And how about perennial favourite Eli Tomac suffering arm pump and riding around back in 7th?! With all this said, it almost makes round 2 like we’ve cleaned the slate yet again. It will make for more excitement as the first round didn’t seem to really answer any of our many questions. It’s a long season and we’re just getting started. It’s going to be good! 450 Predictions: Eli Tomac (He’ll win soon, won’t he?!) Adam Cianciarulo Blake Baggett I like going over the historical facts each week. See if you do too: St Louis is round 2 of the 250 West series and I think we probably all agree that this is going to be a 3-horse race between Justin Cooper, Dylan Ferrandis, and Austin Forkner. The 2 biggest weekly question marks will be which order those 3 land on the podium and, of course, who will get 4th. Christian Craig Enjoy your day and night watching Supercross. It looks like you have to order directly from Supercross Live to get the package here in Canada…or find someone who’s got one of those crazy boxes that gets every single channel on the planet! New Direction for Hayden Halstead in 2020 Hayden Halstead will race the eastern rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Nationals in 2020. \| Bigwave photo Canadian Motocross is a pretty tough business. We’re not all tripping over money and support like some may think. This fact means some hard decisions have to be made on a pretty regular basis. SWO rider Hayden Halstead has been a mainstay on the MX101 team and has been their truck driver the past 4. I don’t want to say they’re “parting ways” as much as I think I’ll say they’re “going in different directions” for 2020. With team budgets being what they are these days, sometimes you have to make lemonade over what could be seen as lemons. To be honest, Hayden has never tasted plain lemons, I don’t think. He is one of the most positive riders on our entire circuit. He will be doing some fun and interesting racing in the upcoming season. His plan is to hit as many eastern rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Nationals, starting with WW Ranch down in Florida. In his truck and trailer, he’ll be hitting the series in a fun-loving grassroots form, just like he did at Southwick and Red Bud this past season. He also plans to hit Sand Del Lee, Gopher Dunes, and then Walton up here in our Rockstar Energy Triple Crown series, too. MX101 owner, Kevin Tyler, definitely has a soft spot for Canadians chasing their dreams south of the border, so you know they will be in close contact and giving Hayden as much support as they possibly can this summer. Good luck to everyone for a great 2020 season. Luke Renzland and Marco Cannella will be crossing the country and Hayden will be heading south to race the AMA Nat’s. It’s going to be fun to watch and will give me a better reason to hit an AMA race on an off weekend in Canada. Dortmund Supercross Watch it live Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Entry List: Bent Methods – Episode 3 Hey, here’s Episode 3 of Keylan Meston and Jared Petruska‘s “Bent Methods” Show with Todd Sewell: Guy Giroux Tells His 2002 Paris-Dakar Rally Story This is worth the read! The Dakar Rally has just finished stage 5 of the 2020 event. It’s taking place in Saudi Arabia this year. Back in the day, it actually went from Paris, France to Dakar in Senegal. In 2002, our old friend Guy Giroux from Quebec headed over to race the famed event. I’ve always known he went and did it, but never really talked to him about it…until now. Guy now works for Sherco, but he was kind enough to take some time to reminisce about this crazy race, so it back and read his first-hand telling of what has to be considered one of the toughest tests of man and machine the world has to offer. Guy Giroux at the 2002 Paris-Dakar Rally. Direct Motocross: OK, Guy, I’ve known you since the MX Forum days over a decade ago, but let’s back up and give everyone some background on you. How did you first get involved in Motocross and Off Road? Guy Giroux: Well, it all started in 1978, if I remember correctly. My dad bought me and my brother the neighbour’s Z50 for us to play around our cabin up north. From there my bro, who is older, was really into off road, and entered his first race in 1983. I was still too young for off-road back in those days…. Couple years later I entered my first Enduro on an 80cc. Humble beginnings, we’ve all got them. \| Giroux photo As a youngster, what did you race more of, MX or Off Road? What were some of your highlights from coming up through the ranks? I started racing Enduro in 1985 and by 1988 I was racing at the ISDE (Six Days). It all went pretty fast after coming back from the Six Days. It was obvious that to go faster in off road I needed to race MX, so till 1994 I was racing Off –Road, but also racing MX part-time to get faster. In 1991 I was national champ in off road, and in 1994 I quit off road to race MX full-time. Guy was a top level motocrosser, too. \| Giroux photo In 1995 and 96 I was #8 in national MX and was a top 3-5 guy in Quebec, then when I became too slow for MX I went back to off road. And at the end of 2012 I kind of started racing for fun….with the old guys. You’re famous for the #801. Why did you choose this number? In 2003 I was scheduled to race the GNCC for the season and I needed a permanent number over there, so I took the list to find me a nice number but it was pretty hard to find a 2-digit number, so I decided to get a 3-digit number that I could use for GNCC/MX/Supermoto etc…. So the bigger the better and less chance of having a dude with the same. Then 8 was an easy choice for my MX days, and the 1 for my old championships. Since 108 was taken, 801 became my identity!!! Now you’re working for Sherco. What is your job there and what is your day-to-day life like? I’m the General Manager. In resume I’m the sales guy, marketing guy, racing manager, technical guy, racer, mechanic, truck driver… Most of my weekdays are spent on the phone or computer, trying to find new dealers, sell more bikes, help with technical questions, and my weekends are at events mainly doing off road races in the east(QC/ON). The rest of the time I try to have as much fun as possible with the family. We try to hit X-Town once a week and we ride MTB a lot. We also try to hit a few MTB races each year, and in the winter we snowboard 2-3 times a week. Mini Me is now old enough that he can come along! The Dakar Rally is going on right now in Saudi Arabia. You’ve done this race before, back in the days when it actually went from Paris to Dakar! Was this a race that you always dreamed of doing? Actually, no lol… But I always loved to look a those bikes for some reason. Mainly, the reason I never dreamed of the Dakar was the crazy amount of $$$ involved to do a race like that! Here is the crazy part of this whole adventure: one night, I’m sitting home and the phone rings (back in the time when you couldn’t see who was calling so I answered). Well, the dude asks for me and goes, “How would you like to come to Dakar with me as a teammate?” I went, “Sure, but I have no money.” He said, “I have money for both of us, don’t worry, but I don’t know how to ride a bike” !!!! I said, “If you pay, I’ll teach you how to ride.” The infamous “Rallyman,” Eric Dubeau. \| Giroux photo That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! Did you climb Everest with him, too? Just kidding. That was back in 2002, and that’s what we want to talk about today. How does someone even get registered for this race? Like I said earlier, registration is pretty easy, all you need is a truckload of money! Haha. Eric Dubeau (aka Rallyman since then) took care of all the paperwork. We did some medical tests and other stuff, like vaccine for all of Africa’s diseases, and once everything was cleared Rallyman was over $200 000 in expense for a one-race deal! What had you been doing to prepare for this adventure? Back in those days i was a machine. Haha. Seriously, once my season was over in Canada (I was racing national MX, national off road and QC off road), I just kept riding as much as I could. I also got a big KTM 640 Adventure to ride in the trails to get used to a bigger bike. Once it got too cold to ride, I did a lot of indoor cycling and gym work. I’m curious about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. How did you arrange bike transport, for example? Eric bought an XR 650 from a Swiss tuner, so he flew there a few months earlier to check the bike, and I bought a KTM rally replica factory bike for 20 000 euro (back then $35 000), and KTM delivered the bike to me straight at the event. Keep in mind, this was back when communications sucked, so I flew there hoping they would not forget to pack it in the truck. Funny story: as I was trying to find my bike at the KTM truck, a tall Austrian guy finally found my bike in one of the support trucks. When he gave me my bike they were all talking in German and having fun. They were actually taking bets how long I would last since I had never ridden a rally bike before. Haha. But I’ll get back to this story later. Who did you go over with to help you? Eric Dubeau (Rallyman), and two mechanics, Martin Laporte and Martin Ducharme. Both of the mechanic, were entered in the race in a support SUV ( Rallyman basically rented them 2 seats in an assistance truck). Those guys would ride in the SUV doing trails and road to get to the bivouac and fix our bikes every night. With my KTM, I had bought a support package from the factory which consisted of giving a credit card number to KTM that would give you access to their huge support trucks that are in resume rolling dealership. Haha. Did you you know what to expect or did everything come at you like it was your first race? What was it like getting settled and ready for Day 1? I had absolutely no idea what we were doing! Haha. We went there with the only goal of finishing the race. Once I got my bike, I installed the GPS, adjusted stuff to my liking, and went through tech to finalized the registration. Then, the first couple of days were mainly liaison from France to Spain to Morocco, so I learned to ride the bike and use the road book on the highways of France in the rain at -2 degrees. Let’s talk about how the race actually goes. What does an average Stage consist of? The bikes always start first, so you wake up from your little tent, go to the outdoor cantina (this was in Africa remember. I think now it’s better from what I see). From your typical euro breakfast (hard bread and cold meat) you usually leave for a few hundreds kilometre liaison, then get to the start of the special. From there you race and navigate for around 300-500km. Then it’s another liaison to the bivouac. The average day is between 500-800km. Home sweet home. \| Giroux photo What about the pits? What do you do at the end of each day to be ready for the next? Once you reach the bivouac, the first priority is the bike, so I would tell the mechanic what to fix, and I would go to the KTM truck to see my tall Austrian friend (since I’m so smart, once we got to Africa and the weather got hot, I used some of my meal tickets to get cold beer and would bring it to my new friend). Anyway, I would always get my parts quick, then I would go to set my house up. Every rider gets a big box where you have to put everything you will need for two weeks in, so I would open my small box set my tent, and then eat a typical euro lunch sitting on a rock in the middle of the desert, while waiting on the managers’ meeting to know info on the next day’s special. But all this depends on how fast you get to the bivouac. Some nights Rallyman would take 4-5 hours more than me to reach it. Did you latch on to anyone else who could maybe help keep things running smoothly? The first days in the dunes I had no clue what I was doing, so I followed a French rider. He then stopped and started yelling, “We’re lost! Blah, blah, blah…” and he went backwards. I looked at my stuff and said, “Whatever, screw him, I’m following my stuff,” and from that moment when I reached the waypoint I never trusted any other racer. I was also trying to run my own pace to avoid riding mistakes and crashing by pushing over my limits. Let’s talk about the course, itself. What was the European part like? France was crazy, there were so many spectators, everywhere, cheering for us, on overpasses at night, by the highway, people with signs and flags, then we would do a small 5-10km special as a show and to get the starting orders for Africa. But the weather was shitty cold and rainy. We did probably close to 1500km to get to Morocco. Judging from the smile, this must be early days or the very end. It’s the final podium. \| Photo supplied What about getting over into Africa. What was involved there? What about safety in general? Did you feel safe? Once we got on the ferry to cross from Spain to Morocco, the party was over… North of Africa is a strange place… The first bivouac in Africa we realized we were not going to be in a Club Med! No more of everything, from Johnny-On-The-Spots to chair to sit in, to shower (we had to buy buckets of dirty water from locals to clean ourselves every 3-4 days. Haha). It was Africa at its finest. Haha. Also, the bivouacs are so noisy, imagine large support trucks arriving all night long, guys fixing bikes, cars and trucks with sledgehammers… And to make everything safe, the guards are wearing turbans with AK47’s! The second night in Africa before crossing to Mauritania, while doing a liason at 2 am, on the road book there was a huge danger sign: “Watch out for Land Mines!” And to make things more interesting, some UN Guards were by the side of the trails with machine guns! I don’t know who they were expecting, but, let me tell you, it made for a pretty interesting ride. As far as personal safety while you ride, every bike has a safety beacon, and there is a lot of safety material that you need to carry with you all the time (3 litres of water on the bike, survival blanket, flairs, compass). But now guys have satellite phone, GPS locator on the bikes, special beeper when a truck approaches them to pass, etc..) It is much safer now, plus the bikes are also smaller. My bikes was a 660, pushing 85 hp, with a 50 litre fuel capacity. Now they are 450’s with 28 litres of fuel . And then was the rest of the course like we’re seeing now in the Middle East? From what I saw from the first few days of this year, the course looks pretty similar to Africa. In Africa, the course would often change with the country we would cross: Morocco was really rocky, Mauritania was more sand, then, the more we rode into the race the sandier it got. Did you have any sketchy moments out there? I had a ton of them. Imagine riding 9500km without doing any mistakes! Haha. One day I got lost and did approximately 120km too much. That day I was riding with a Japanese guy. Once we found the good trail we found a Factory KTM with no rider and no safety beacon. We realized it was waiting for the recovery truck. The Japanese rider had more experience than me and started to steal the gas tank from the bike. In my best Japanese accent I asked why? He started yelling, “Petrol…Petrol!” Shit, we were gonna run out of fuel because of our little excursion! Also, later in the race the TV crew decided to set me up to do an interview while I was riding. Everything went fine and as soon as we finished the interview I hit something and flew over the bars and landed on my head. I guess the helicopter heard my scream in the microphone and turned back to see if I was alright. It took a while to get some wind back. It was a pretty big crash and a few vertebra got kicked out of place. From there I backed out the pace a bit. Haha. “I also realized, once I was there, that I’m far from a camping type of guy. I’m more of a princess and I appreciate luxury like a shitter and a shower.” \| Giroux photo How did you end up, as far as results? Like I said, in the beginning the goal was to finish, but after a few days in Morocco I asked my tall Austrian friend, “When is this shit gonna get hard? All we ride is gravel road, and I’m getting passed by semi trucks down the straightaways!” ( I was around 40th) He looked at me strangely and said, “After the rest day you can go fast if you’re still capable!” The next three days were all dunes and soft sand. I finished those stages 12-13-12, and I was now eating breakfast with the factory guys! And I was also getting my parts way faster at the KTM truck! I went on to finish in 16th place (2nd in the rookie division), best North American that year (It also took Red Bull KTM 3 years and a $2 million budget to beat me. Haha.). Let’s not forget the Rallyman that also finished in 48th place! This guy had no off road experience 8 month before, but he was mentally tough as a rock. And to close the loop with my tall Austrian friend, after the race was over we all went out in a bar in Dakar to celebrate. Once we got merrier I asked him what was his job was at KTM, since he was the parts guy in the truck. He told me he was the CEO???!!! Since I might have had a few too many in me, plus the German accent, I asked another guy what the hell is was talking about. His answer was, “He IS the boss! Haha!” His name was Winnie Kerschhaggl, he was #2 at KTM. My new best friend was a KTM boss! Haha. After a few more beers, that’s when he told me that the mechanics were taking bets on me on how long I would last, and the longest was 4 days. He also told me they had never seen anyone without any experience do what I did. “I’ve seen stuff that not many people have seen, or will see! I’ve met incredible people, starting with Rallyman, who we share a special relationship since this race.” Guy Giroux I knew this was going to be a great story! Was this the toughest event you’ve ever done? Physically, no, if you don’t count the missing skin on the butt from riding for 16 days. But mentally this thing is completely unreal. First you lack sleep so much and you are 24/7 stressed, plus the concentration needed to navigate and ride the bike and not crash at crazy speed. Africa really scared me also. The year before, guys were getting highjacked and getting their bikes stolen in the race! As soon as I would see someone in the tracks I would make an effort to go as far as possible of him. I also realized, once I was there, that I’m far from a camping type of guy. I’m more of a princess and I appreciate luxury like a shitter and a shower. It took me a few months to recover from that whole adventure. I remember waking up at night in my apartment back then and running outside in the Quebec snow looking for my bike. And more than once! Hopefully, I would walk back inside, eat a whole row of Oreo’s and go back to sleep. Did you try to go back? I did start to think about it in 2007. I called Winnie to arrange for a bike and he convinced me to not do it. Back in those days, 1-2 guys would die every year. Bikes were too fast and big! What would you tell anyone who may be considering tackling this particular event? Be smart and go slow! You cannot finish this race if you push (Unless it’s your job). And I hope you have a big bank account. Haha. But the experience you gain from this adventure is worth so much. I’ve seen stuff that not many people have seen, or will see! I’ve met incredible people, starting with Rallyman, who we share a special relationship since this race. Guy is back to racing regularly, but it’s now a family affair. \| DH Photographie photo Have you been doing any races lately? I’m back full-time, dude! Haha. Since I’m with Sherco, I’ve pretty much hit all of the off road races to promote the bikes. I race the Vet Expert, usually, and sometimes the Pro class to see if I can beat a few kids. Last year I won the FMSQ Vet Pro and the Cord Vet Pro. My goal is more to show what the bikes are capable of and have fun, compared to before when I needed to win to eat. Haha. Now it’s more family time since my girlfriend is also racing, and Mini Me will probably start next year, so I will become a Mini Dad. What’s new over there at Sherco? Anything we should know about? I guess the biggest news is that the USA is really stepping up. They signed up really good riders Cody Webb, the Baylor Brothers, and they also made a collaboration with FXR for North America to produce the clothing! This should really help us, since most of the racing effort was previously made in Europe. On the Canadian side, we are still working towards getting a few more dealers on board. OK, sorry that went so long, but it was worth the trip! Thanks for taking the time to take us through that crazy adventure. Would you like to thank anyone? For sure. First, big thanks to the Rallyman. Without him that whole crazy story was nothing. Now also the guys in France at Sherco for their trust in me. On the support side, most of these guys have had my back since my beginning: Motovan, Lee at Pro-Tech, Scott at Dunlop, the whole gang at Motul, Jake at Oakley, Ben at Cybercycle for the cool bicycle, Lime Nine, fah-q racing, and soon Andy at FXR. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did! Thanks for taking the time, Guy, and good luck with your gig over at Sherco. \| Photo supplied Winter X Games Invited Snow BikeCross Athletes Rob Adelberg Danny Baird Yanick Boucher Tyler Brandenburger Kolleen Conger Mat Cox Colton Davis Kyle Demelo Brandon Dudley Parker Earl Seth Fischer Pablo Gimenez Robert Haslam Doug Henry Axell Hodges Troy Horbaty Brock Hoyer Harris Huizenga Jesse Kirchmeyer Leighton Lillie Cody Matechuk Darrin Mees Blair Morgan Mick Olson E.J. Poplawski Will Posey Jordan Renaud Ethen Roberts Kevin Royston Mike Schultz Jackson Strong Ryan Suchanek Paul Thacker Tommy Thompson David Trujillo Brett Turcotte William Van Hook Jim Wazny Troy Weakley And you can add another Canadian to this list! I better get practicing! Gonna be an awesome experience with @cobmtnsports @cmsparker and the entire crew! @139designs @yetisnowmx @tantramarchevbuickgmc @bcbcfabrication @callusmoto @haflifestylestore A post shared by Mitch Cooke (@cooke58) on Jan 9, 2020 at 4:20pm PST Scott Addict 20 58cm For Sale Email billy@directmotocross.com for details. OK, that will do it for this week. Have a great weekend, everyone. 2009 Brock Hoyer and Greg Small say, “See you at the races…” \| Bigwave photo Frid'Eh Update Matt Goerke Keylan Meston Gets a Video Interview on DrumFM in Drumheller McThoughts \| 450 SX Report Card McThoughts: A3 Podcast \| Cole Thompson Talks about His Round 1 AX Win A Few Photos from Arenacross Practice Thursday Faces at the Races \| Daytona 2018 \| Legend Intl.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line550
__label__wiki	0.817278	0.817278	Travis perkins sends representative to Malawi for humanitarian project Published: 17 June 2019 - Kiran Grewal Travis Perkins Group, supplier of building materials, is supporting key customer Miller Homes with its commitment to Habitat for Humanity Great Britain by sending representative, Gemma Black, who is Inventory Manager for BSS, to help build new homes for orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi. BSS, which is the UK’s market-leading distributor of pipeline and heating solutions and part of Travis Perkins, nominated Ms Black to travel to Salima in Malawi to help build up to three 'Habitat Homes' there as part of a trip organised by Travis Perkins customer, Miller Homes, and Habitat for Humanity GB; a global charity focused on long-term poverty alleviation through affordable social housing. Ms Black is joining 17 other Miller Homes colleagues and partner representatives, and be in Malawi until 23rd June, Ms Black said: “I’m preparing myself for working in 26 degree heat, on anything from bricklaying, to mixing matope, moving bricks and fetching water. This build will certainly be very different to our day jobs! Luckily in the team there are a few bricklayers joining us! I’ve been advised to bring energy tablets and pain relief to compensate for what will be a tough week of heavy lifting!” “We will also be joining in with local activities; playing games with the children and sharing stories, and getting to know the families we are building the homes for. I’m extremely grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity to hopefully make a positive difference to people's lives,” she continued. Sustainability director for Miller Homes, Garry McDonald, said: "We have a fantastic team joining us on this trip, and I am so proud of my suppliers for their enthusiasm and commitment to taking part in this initiative and supporting Habitat for Humanity, so we can work together to make a real difference to some of those who need it most." Sales director for Travis Perkins, Mark Newman, who is in charge of the Group’s Miller Homes partnership, added: "We are proud to support Miller Homes and Habitat for Humanity to help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, which is very much p[art of our Cornerstones here at Travis Perkins. I’m confident Gemma will give it her all! She is a great ambassador for our Group and I’m positive it will be a life changing experience for her.” "We are extremely grateful for Miller Homes' ongoing support and also delighted that their partners are getting behind their goals this year for Habitat for Humanity. It's difficult to imagine the hardships that many of those we support face on a daily basis and this pledge to build new homes and fund vital facilities, which many of us take for granted, will have a massive impact on both the families and the wider community,” concluded Habitat for Humanity’s GB Chief Executive, Tum Kazunga. You can keep up with Gemma’s experience across the Travis Perkins social media channels, including Twitter Facebook and Instagram. Best in class for Travis Perkins Travis Perkins/Wickes demerger progressing well Travis Perkins wins gold Ministry of Defence award New Travis Perkins CEO officially takes position Toolstation continues roll out and extends opening hours at Scottish branches "Continued excellent growth" in Toolstation says Travis Perkins Wickes announces new CEO Travis Perkins wins award for promoting charity messages through vehicle livery	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line552
__label__wiki	0.58825	0.58825	Category: Recent Reads It was safer to put your head down By Dominic on October 1, 2019in Clickable, Recent Reads Named for the suburb of southwestern Sydney, Australia, where his family settled after having fled their war-torn homeland of Vietnam, a black and white autobiographical comic from Matt Huynh called “Cabramatta” draws on the artist’s experience as the son of refugees and a childhood spent near an open-air drug market. The new adult comics revolution By Dominic on July 10, 2019in Recent Reads At The Comics Journal, Derik Badman writes about Italian comics artist Guido Crepax and his popular character Valentina Rosselli, whose strip was first serialized in a monthly adult-aimed comics magazine called Linus in the mid-1960s. Probing social-protest comics of the postwar era By Dominic on April 4, 2019in Recent Reads When EC Comics published “Master Race,” were there any stories available to American audiences that even remotely resembled it? In particular, were there any comics like it? Nothing would ever be the same again By Dominic on February 28, 2019in Recent Reads For my debut at The Los Angeles Times (!), I wrote about cartoonist Brian Fies’s graphic account of losing his home in the 2017 California wildfires. A Fire Story is his chronicling, in comics, of life during and after the second-most destructive wildfire in the state’s history: Following a tense sequence that has the cartoonist and his wife springing from bed and frantically hauling belongings out to their driveway and the palpable heartbreak that materializes later when Fies scouts out their rubble-strewn streets, A Fire Story shares lesser-broadcast hardships as well as how quickly wildfire victims are expected to process a frenzied cycle of emotions. A drawn five-key keychain has three keys that “don’t do anything anymore,” explains Fies in a caption. Homes elsewhere are reduced to wholly blacked-out, cross-hatched blots on stretches of sepia-toned blocks that look like a war zone, where neighbors comb the charred ruins of their houses’ foundations. Discussions with utility companies prove pointless. A tally of long-gone items on a single-panel page is slugged “Things I Will Never See Again.” But a vulnerable Fies doesn’t grieve alone—the careful accounting here culminates in what’s better described as a work of comics journalism than it is autobiography. Read my whole piece at The Los Angeles Times. Dominic Umile lives, writes, and drinks in Brooklyn, NY. His criticism and features have recently appeared in The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Reader, Hyperallergic, and more. Send him an email. Archives Select Month October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 August 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 August 2013 Dominic UmileFollow Dominic Umile@dominicumile· Happy New Year, friends and strangers. You can find long 2019 posts at my site, and my writing for @latimesbooks and @hyperallergic is collected below. Let’s eat great pizza this year you guys http://www.dominicumile.com/portfolio/ Retweet on TwitterDominic Umile Retweeted Humanoid History@HumanoidHistory· Cities of the future, illustrated by Syd Mead (1933-2019) Reply on Twitter 1211816586316832769Retweet on Twitter 1211816586316832769452Like on Twitter 12118165863168327691324 For me, the only redeeming quality of this film 😬 All original content © 2013–2019 Dominic Umile	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line554
__label__cc	0.625808	0.374192	河南快3基本走势一定: Ovarian Function Test Paper Ovary is an important organ of female reproductive system, its main function is to produce and excrete eggs and secrete hormones. Not only in the fertility play a decisive role, but also let women from the inside out to send out the source of youthful vitality, but now the population suffering from ovarian premature aging is getting larger and larger, so ovarian maintenance has become a compulsory course for women. In the process of ovarian maintenance, regular examination should also be done, especially for busy urban women and pregnant women. The most convenient test method is to use ovarian function test paper (FSH test paper), FSH is an important index for clinical evaluation of ovarian reserve function. Generally, basal FSH is increased, indicating decreased ovarian reserve function. Collect urine with a urine cup, and morning urine is suggested, because it can measure the highest level of FSH. (test start time: once within 2-5 days after the physiological period, and then twice before ovulation to ensure the effectiveness of the effluent follicles) Use the sampling tube to drain the urine and add 2 drops to the ring hole. Observe and recorde the test results 5 minutes later, but the results after 8 minutes shows no clinical significance. Interpretation of test results: Positive: the color of T area is close to or deeper than that of C area, indicating that the FSH content in the sample is higher than the basic level and there are cases of premature ovarian failure. Negative: only the color band in zone C or T is lighter than that in zone C, indicating that the FSH content in the sample is at the basic level and the ovaries are in a healthy state. Invalid: only the T zone has a measuring band or both zones are colorless. Indicating the failure of the experiment, it is recommended to retest. The otc ovulation test of our company is of good quality. Learn more about otc ovulation test from chemtron biotech. August 8, 2018Why should you collect morning urine:Urine is usually checked for early pregnancy tests. When the fertilized egg is implanted into the uterus, a new chorionic gonadotropin is produced in the body of t...view July 26, 2018Definition"Fecal occult blood test paper" refers to the chronic hemorrhage in the digestive tract that cannot be directly observed by the naked eye and the laboratory microscope after each defecation ...view August 8, 20184.Precautions and common problems during testing:1) Both pre-enrichment and secondary enrichment are essential processes.The content of salmonella in food is generally very small and there are many ki...view August 8, 2018Intended use:It is suitable for screening suspected chlamydia trachomatis infection by various medical institutions, and can qualitatively detect whether chlamydia trachomatis antigen is contained in ...view August 8, 2018GBS, which normally reside in the vagina and rectum, is a conditional pathogenic bacterium. Generally, GBS infection in normal healthy people does not cause disease.According to statistics, about 10% ...view April 9, 2019In order to meet the needs of rapid detection and timely diagnosis of chlamydia trachomatis, Shanghai Biochemtron has provided detection reagents for female chlamydia test. According to data, there ar...view 河南快3号码推荐选号 www.cwjub.com +86-21-68129666	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line555
__label__cc	0.688201	0.311799	All, Dressage, Frontpage Article, News Today is a very sad day for us all at Combridge. It was time to say goodbye to our wonderful mare Ballaseyr Royale. She was 27 years old and, although she looked very well, old-age had recently started to take its toll. Royale represented Great Britain at Olympic, World and European Championships and at the World Cup Finals. She also became the British National Champion. She finished her competitive career shortly after the Athens Olympics and retired completely sound. For the following eleven years she enjoyed a happy life here on the farm overseeing everything through her big kind eyes and with her huge ears always pricked forward. She is the mother of my current grand prix ride Bubblingh (by Lingh) and she herself was related to Blue Hors Matine and Matador. I know I am not the only one to shed tears at her passing as Royale held a special place in the hearts of all our staff both past and present. I would like to thank all of them and everyone else who contributed to Royale’s care including our travelling grooms, vets, farrier, physio, Louise Morton and all of the support team within Team GBR and the UK Sport World Class Programme. But I will always be most indebted to Royale’s owner, our loyal supporter and friend Gwendolyn Sontheim, for granting me the privilege of riding Royale and entrusting her care to me. Royale’s story is not only that of an extraordinary and wonderful horse, but also of an on-going journey that united so many special people. This was part of her legacy; this was her gift. May 2, 2017 /0 Comments/by Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Richard_DavisonBallaseyr_Royale-1.jpg 250 250 Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DE.Logo_.png Tom Davison2017-05-02 12:27:072017-05-23 21:31:09Time to say goodbye Wise Guy wins 1.30m The European show circuit is underway as we return to the UK. Joe is currently getting the horses out to national shows before the first 2* at the end of April. Gwendolyn Sontheim’s Coral Reef Wise Guy and Joe won the 1.30m this week. Wise Guy training from Tom Davison on Vimeo. April 14, 2017 /0 Comments/by Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Wise-Guy.Davison-1.jpg 1024 768 Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DE.Logo_.png Tom Davison2017-04-14 15:16:412017-04-14 15:16:41Wise Guy wins 1.30m All, Frontpage Article, Jumping, News, Videos Joe Davison finishes WEF with a 3rd in the 2* Joe and Gatsby finish 3rd in the 1.40m 2* in his last competition in Wellington, Florida at the Winter Equestrian Festival. http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/joe-davison-and-gatsby-1.45-1.jpg 3182 4773 Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DE.Logo_.png Tom Davison2017-04-11 22:39:532017-04-11 22:39:53Joe Davison finishes WEF with a 3rd in the 2* All, Frontpage Article, Jumping, News Winter Equestrian Festival week 10 in Photos Chilly mornings at WEF Week 10 in photos of the Davison Equestrian team by Matt Cartmell taken at the Winter Equestrian Festival 2017 in Wellington, Florida. March 18, 2017 /0 Comments/by Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AI3A3483-1.jpg 2153 3229 Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DE.Logo_.png Tom Davison2017-03-18 15:36:192017-05-23 21:31:50Winter Equestrian Festival week 10 in Photos Whiskey Business jumps his fifth 1.30m clear http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AI3A3189-6-1.jpg 2159 3239 Tom Davison http://www.davisonequestrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DE.Logo_.png Tom Davison2017-03-18 15:15:062017-03-18 15:15:06Whiskey Business jumps his fifth 1.30m clear	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line558
__label__wiki	0.60448	0.60448	Subscribers Area Free Area Free Subscriber Videos EWI Free Resources EWI News Feed Welcome To The Third World. Written by Syndicated Publisher 55 Comments One upon a time, the US was a place where police came when you called, a basic safety net caught those who fell on hard times, and a lifetime of work was rewarded with a decent retirement. A First World country, in other words. To be born here was to win life’s lottery. But apparently this was an illusion fueled by borrowing and money printing, and now that we can’t borrow quite so much, many things we took for granted are going away. Consider this video of Chicagoans being dropped from state health care assistance. And these recent news stories: O.C. cities reeling from revenue loss, public safety costs Spiraling public safety costs and plummeting revenues have pushed Orange County cities to the brink. Many can’t pay their bills without raiding their reserves, an analysis by the Orange County Register has found. The Register also found that the unfunded portion of accrued pension and health care costs for Orange County and its cities now total $8.75 billion — boosted by the cost of retirement for police officers and firefighters. Most cities do not have a plan in place to address that debt. Like a consumer who has pegged his credit card, they are paying only what’s due immediately. Declines in city revenue have pushed Costa Mesa to dismantle its two-helicopter air patrol and consider outsourcing half the jobs at City Hall. Stanton has locked the public out of its police station, hoping to reopen the office with volunteers. Anaheim cut $5 million from police and fire budgets, sidelining a fire engine and its crew. The cuts to come could be worse, experts say. “It has been a painful couple of years and I think it will be painful still,” said Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi. The Register looked at audited financial reports for each city as well as state pension documents and found: Twenty-three Orange County cities outspent their general fund revenues during fiscal 2009-10, the most recent audited year. Santa Ana spent 77 percent of its general fund on police and fire protection. Westminster, Stanton and Garden Grove also spent more than 70 percent on public safety. The city of Vallejo was at 80 percent when the costs of public safety drove it to bankruptcy. Orange County cities face a combined $4.1 billion in unfunded pension and health care liability. County agencies face another $4.65 billion. Those figures are growing at 7.75 percent annually. Anaheim has the single highest city debt at $787 million for retirements and medical benefits, with Santa Ana following at $626 million. “With (the benefits) that municipalities have agreed to, they’ve put themselves in a real squeeze,” said Bob Burton, spokesman for the California Public Employees Retirement System, which administers the pensions for nearly all Orange County cities. “They negotiated benefit packages they are having a hard time paying for.” Illinois’ budget stiffs the dead Memo to residents of the Metro East: Come Monday, don’t die if you can’t afford a funeral. The state no longer is willing to pick up the tab. Illinois has a budget deficit of about $9.4 billion, despite raising income tax rates by roughly 66 percent earlier this year. It owes $2.4 billion in tax refunds, $4.6 billion in unpaid bills to its vendors and $2.4 billion in Medicaid and insurance obligations. As part of trying to make ends meet, effective Monday, the state will suspend its practice of paying $1,655 to funeral homes that bury the approximately 12,000 public aid recipients who die each year. The Illinois Funeral Directors Association says that barely covers the cost of a simple funeral and burial. In the past, the state set aside about $15 million for indigent funerals. The budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, was just $1.9 million. As of now, that’s gone. North Miami Beach’s proposed cop layoffs spark protest Katrina Pinillos marched up and down the sidewalk in front of North Miami Beach City Hall, occasionally joining in a “No More Bonner” chant bellowed by nearly 80 people. For more than an hour on Tuesday, the crowd rallied in front of city hall before the commission meeting, protesting City Manager Lyndon Bonner’s proposed cuts to the city’s police department, including the layoff 24 officers. “I am angry,” said Pinillos, a Plantation resident whose husband and brother both serve on the North Miami Beach department — and are both facing layoffs. “Who is going to protect the city when there are minus 24 officers? It is the residents who hear the gunshots and see gang oppression,” said Pinillos, who teaches at a North Miami Beach public school. “When they let these officers go, this stuff is going to double.” According to Bonner, who recently became city manager, there is a $7.5 million shortfall for the 2011-2012 budget. The New Retirement Plan: No Retirement Already battered nest eggs took another beating this month with the market’s wild swings. With interest rates essentially at zero since 2008, income from Treasurys and certificates of deposit is pretty paltry. … On top of that, housing prices [leave] homeowners with much less equity to tap. Here is the survey mentioned in the article: The New Retirement: Working • The survey found that for many Americans, the foundation of their retirement strategy is simply not to retire, to work considerably longer than the traditional retirement age, or work in retirement: –39 percent of workers plan to work past age 70 or do not plan to retire –54 percent of workers expect to plan to continue working when they retire –40 percent now expect to work longer and retire at an older age since the recession • Workers’ greatest fears about retirement include “outliving my savings and investments” and “not being able to meet the financial needs of my family.” • Most workers will continue working out of financial necessity: –Workers estimate their retirement savings needs at $600,000 (median), but in comparison, fewer than one-third (30 percent) have currently saved more than $100,000 in all household retirement accounts –Most workers, regardless of age or household income, agree that they could work until age 65 and still not have enough money saved to meet their retirement needs –Of those who plan on working past the traditional retirement age of 65, the most commonly cited reasons are of need versus choice –Many workers (31 percent) anticipate that they will need to provide financial support to family members NY cops preparing for civil unrest In the aftermath of last week’s riots in the United Kingdom, the NYPD has held a “mobilization exercise” to train police to prepare for civil unrest in the United States, while also launching a program designed to spot signs of potential trouble via social networking websites. The NYPD Disorder Control Unit brought together police from all five of the city’s boroughs to rehearse what the response would be “should out-of-control riots break out here”. “Approximately 180 police officers total from each borough’s task force, including the horseback and aviation units, came out for the drill,” reports the Metro. However, unlike in the United Kingdom where the rioters mainly comprised of teenage kids taking the opportunity to steal iPods and other high-end electrical goods, civil unrest in the United States is far more likely to have a political motivation. With many Americans now becoming “pre-revolutionary” as a result of their fury at the Obama administration and equally unpopular lawmakers in Washington, potential civil unrest could spring not just from a poverty-stricken underclass, but also the shrinking middle class. Perhaps that’s why the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly focusing its anti-terror apparatus on white middle class Americans, portraying them as domestic terrorist in a series of PSA videos. In addition to the riot training, a new NYPD unit has also been set up to “troll sites like Twitter and Facebook for suspicious activity” in order to pre-empt potential flash mobs and other civil unrest. Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter came in for harsh condemnation following the UK riots, with Prime Minister David Cameron advocating authorities have the power to shut down access during times of public disorder. For his part in decrying social media, Cameron was praised by none other than Communist China, which habitually censors the Internet to hide political corruption or prevent legitimate protesters from receiving media attention. The Communist state routinely uses such powers, which Senator Joe Lieberman has called to be introduced in the United States, to cover up atrocities and abuses against its own citizens. Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are all banned in China and even sanitized government approved versions of these websites are now being shut down for long periods of time so that they can “remove all politically sensitive content under orders from Chinese internet authorities”. It’s painful to think about how totally we blew it. In the 1980s and 90s we had the chance to get borrowing — both public and private — under control and live within our considerable means. We did the opposite, choosing to live big on credit cards, T-Bills and derivatives, and now we’re broke and those least able to cope will suffer through a decade that didn’t have to happen. Note the progression of these articles: From state/local financial problems, to cutbacks in basic services, to evaporating nest eggs, to civil unrest, to a police state. Look around the world for examples of what’s coming. Welcome To The Third World — DollarCollapse.com. Images : Flickr (licence) DollarCollapse.com is managed by John Rubino, co-author, with GoldMoney’s James Turk, of The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit From It (Doubleday, 2007), and author of Clean Money: Picking Winners in the Green-Tech Boom (Wiley, 2008), How to Profit from the Coming Real Estate Bust (Rodale, 2003) and Main Street, Not Wall Street (Morrow, 1998). After earning a Finance MBA from New York University, he spent the 1980s on Wall Street, as a Eurodollar trader, equity analyst and junk bond analyst. During the 1990s he was a featured columnist with TheStreet.com and a frequent contributor to Individual Investor, Online Investor, and Consumers Digest, among many other publications. He currently writes for CFA Magazine. 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__label__wiki	0.550515	0.550515	Share the Joy of Cinema CINEMETER CINESCOPE CINEVIEWS CINESHARE PICK A FLICK DIRECTOR'S DEN FlickSonic Movie Review: Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1: An epic literally, but unfortunately – not figuratively! Mr.Kashyup is a true revolutionary. He fought the system and made his mark. He has always been regarded as the new maestro of cult film making. But there is a big problem in his film making – over indulgence and romanticising his own craft. And that is where GOW suffers… despite the overall brilliance of each and every individual associated with this project. To tell you the truth, I have always looked up to Anurag. Though Paanch didn’t impress me much, he ripped it with Black Friday… Dev D was good but then there have been average stuff like No Smoking and Girl in Yellow Boots. According to me, he was at his best in the first half of the gritty Gulaal and that made me his true fan. Gangs of Wasseypur, brings out that brilliance in parts, but just goes on and on and on and still never ends. This film unfolds like an epic. Starting from the pre-independence era, it tells us the tale of the people of Wasseypur/ Dhanbad – now in Ranchi. The cinematography is spectacular and the storytelling is stellar. Quickly you are introduced with the gangs of Wasseypur and the divide between two sects of Muslims living in that area. The story then shifts to Dhanbad and the coal mafia comes into the picture. As you digest these facts, a revenge drama unfolds with a dash of womanizing and a whole lot of blood. As I said earlier, the film mostly rides on the brilliance of each and every cast and crew member. The actors do a spot on job, from the briefest cameo to the lead roles. The background score and music score by Sneha Khanwalkar is amazing and suits the film like Ham suits SRK! The dialogues are great, so is the styling, the action choreography, the photography. But even though everyone is hitting a six, you shift in your seat. The problem is you don’t know where the film is heading. It builds up to being this revenge tale, but never really snowballs into something big. Small skirmishes keep happening, but the tide turns, a few years are knocked off the calendar and again the story delves into trivialities of life. Kashyup takes his time, moves into subplots, dives into mundane pappi jhappi’s and strays away from the plot. The protagonist, in the 4th act of the film forgets that he is driven by revenge and starts selling fish! And this just stretches the film. Some might say it was to reflect life’s mundane nature, but was captured way better and with the correct balance by Tigmanshu in “Pan Singh Tomar”. Anurag just goes over board. And you come out with this mixed feeling because you know this could have been great. Anurag spoils the excellent individual brilliance of everyone with his romanticism and I am not too excited to see what will happen next. If this were a 3 hour tightly bound film, I think it would have been an epic ( figuratively). Right now, it’s just an epic literally – running over decades, but not creating too much of an impact. Rating: 6 / 10 ( Damn --- It's sad, coz the acting is so awesome) Movie Review: Ferrari ki Sawaari : A bumpy but sweet ride. There is something about the Vidhu VC/Raju Hirani camp. The zone they are in, the sweet-feel - good film zone, is a good zone. It’s rare nowadays, with all “Over-the-top” taking precedence. Hence it’s refreshing too. And FKS by Mapuskar is a good beginning by the reasonably talented storyteller. The story is simple. A talented boy, a doting father and a grumpy grandpa stay together. The boy is a cricketing genius and his father wants him to go to a camp at Lords. For that he needs a big amount of cash, which he is not able to raise by legal ways. So, what will he do? The only option he has is to ask Sachin Tendulkar to lend his Ferrari for a day to a local politician! Protracted enough, he manages to do the same, with loads of bumps in the way. But all’s well, that ends well! First the good bits. The story is simple and is simply made. The screenplay obviously benefits from the presence of the master storyteller “Raju Hirani”. There are several scenes throughout the film that would make you smile, and some will make you laugh out loud. The acting is overall competent. Boman Irani is spectacular as the grumpy grandpa. The ensemble cast does an excellent job. The background score keeps the mood light and the music “though unremarkable” fits the screenplay rather comfortably. Now, the not so good bits. The ride is a little too sweet in bits. Mapuskar and Hirani, twist the story and stretch it, so as to manipulate your emotions all along and there are too many "Oh so convenient moments". Unnecessary tear jerkers are added, in the second half, which the film could have done without. Yes goodness is good, but in limits. What keeps you with the film is the sincerity of the performances by all the leads and the ensemble. The young boy playing Sharman’s son infact does a really really good job. There is no big message here, it’s all about ambition and sacrifice. Watch it with your family in the theatre and it will surely give you a bumpy but sweet ride. Rating: 6 / 10 Movie review: Shanghai -- The RAY OF HOPE... for a better tomorrow. Thank god… Finally arrives a movie this year that I want to watch again, in the theater. Thank god for “The BANKable Dibakar”! And this is why. Cinema for me is not about BEING LOUD. Most films nowadays have DEAFENING backgrounds sounds, OVER THE TOP storyline, LOUD and LUDICRUOUS dialogues and MIND NUMBING songs. The theory is the LOUDER, the DUMBER, the better. And that is why Turdy films like Rowdy Rathore do well, rather than being flushed into the drainage system. And that’s my opinion and my taste. I do not mean to denigrate anyone’s personal taste in cinema. I love subtlety… Sometimes you can say a lot by saying next to nothing and Dibakar just nails the subject on its head with the minimalistic yet hard hitting treatment. Cinema for me is not about the STARS. Even Aamir’s best films are those in which he has stood amongst the rest of the crowd as equal, when he has let others share the limelight. There is nothing more important in cinema than the story and its maker. Unfortunately, in India there is a tradition of changing the storyline, twisting the dialogues to suit the ego of the stars. What the tweaking does to the story and the final product, is secondary. Shanghai on the other hand has characters and not heroes or heroins. Everyone gets equal importance, be it Abhay Deol - the IAS officer with a conscience or Emraan Hashmi – the porn cinematographer turned good Samaritan or Kalki – the bereaved activist or be it Pitobash Tripathy as the pawn / killer in the film. Farooq Shaikh plays Abhay’s senior with classic precision. The movie is sprinkled with delicious performances and you take home the most elegant mix of flavours from the ensemble cast. Cinema for me is not about the AUDIENCE! Ok, I know that sounds wrong, but I meant it in the right way. Cinema should not start off with keeping the audience in mind. Otherwise, all you will get are films that come right out of the ROHIT SHITTY BOOK of “Shit that People Love”. Formulaic and manipulative cinema is the death knell to creativity and the art of story/screenplay writing. True genius comes out when you believe in the story you are doing and when it’s not diluted with THINGS PEOPLE WANT. Yes, films are made for entertainment, but they can do much much more than just give entertainment. They can educate, move, bring out revolutions and unfortunately most things that work in India are manufactured to work! Shanghai is not (and still it works). It stays true to its story. It is neither too intelligent, nor too dumb. It drives home the point, without Shouting or Idiot proofing. And it stays with you, as you think about it later. Well, I won't delve into the story ( adapted/inspired from Z - a french film by Costa Gavras), I would just tell you to go ahead and watch it. It's a satire of a place in India that sells dreams of becoming Shanghai. Do give it a fair chance. After gems like Khosla ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and LSD, we could have expected an off-weekend for Dibakar, but fortunately he stays true to his art. Shanghai may not be his finest, but it’s one of the best films out of Bollywood in a long time. It’s brought back a hope that Mumbai may reach Shanghai (atleast in terms of film-making one day). And it gives me a reason to hope for a better tomorrow. Rating: 7.5 / 10 Movie Review : Rowdy Rathore : Very Strongly Bore.... Well, it was not as if I did not know what I was getting into. These films are not made for the discerning. It’s made for the Paisa Vasool Crowd. But I think even in the Masala Category, this is a massive disappointment. Dabangg or for that matter, even Singham was better. This film is downright poor. And let’s see why. What is the formula of a 100 Crore + Collection, Box Office Hit, South India Inspired Masala Film ? · Useless Storyline (Check) – This one’s more numb-brained than even BodyGuard. · A Fit, Muscle crunching Superstar (Check) – Akshay Kumar – twice over! · Hard Hitting Dialogues (Uncheck) – Extremely poorly written dialogues, with no impact. No Matter how forcefully Akshay delivers it, it just fall’s flat. · Some good hearted Buffoonery (Uncheck) – Well, the comedy goes from the ridiculous to the lame. · An easy breezy, dim-witted love story (Check) – Yes… This one’s as dim-witted as it gets. · Some awesome, jhatkedaar songs (Uncheck) – Substandard songs just waste your time. · 1 HOT HOT HOT Item Number (Uncheck) – Well…. You know there is none worth talking about. · A Memorable Villain (Uncheck) – Undoubtedly the lamest, the most forgettable bunch of Villains. · Some brilliant action (Check and Uncheck) – Bloody, Gory to the core, but nothing new or exceptional. Quiet frankly, Akshay Kumar tries his best, but falls short in dialogue delivery. His buffoonery is good, but his firm, hard hitting dialogue-baazi is suspect. Sonakshi’s character is so poorly written that she herself doesn’t know if she is a cutezy girl or rowdy herself. Sadly, this film also stars 2 people I have played cricket with as a child in Lokhadwala. Akshay was then “Raju Bhaiya” and used to play underarm cricket, with amazing rules like 1st floor 1 run, 2nd floor 2 runs, so on and so forth. And then there was Amit Tiwari urf Anna, the left handed power-hitter with a unquenchable thirst for hitting the ball into the gutters. Akshay stars as the rowdy himself, and Anna plays the idiot son of the villain, who rapes women and acts like a lunatic….. Wish both had better roles… They deserve much better. This was down-right ludicrous… In the film, Akshay often goes “Main jo Bolta hun, who karta hun… Jo nahi bolta.. who toh zaroor karta hun”. How you wish “Naa woh kuch bol paata.. naa toh kuch kar paataa..” It’s a pure waste of time. Rowdy Rathore… Ekdum Strongly Bore… Rating: 2 / 10 ( 1 for Anna and 1 for simply getting me nostalgic ) ( And I am being generous) Search a Review only search FlickSonic Rating Scale : on 10 1,2,3,4 - Poor 5,6 - Average 7,8 - Good 9,10 - Excellent Virinder Villkhoo. M.B.A / B.E. is just a tag, without Cinema life's a drag. Calculating..... Docu Drama My Previous	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line563
__label__cc	0.570389	0.429611	The latest network routers, software, management tools and information for enterprise IT administrators. Networking Resources White Papers & Webcasts Network Security Security Resources \| Infrastructure Security \| Cloud Security Network Software Linux for Networking WAN and LAN WAN Optimization \| WLAN Deployment Center Data Center Blog \| Cloud \| Software Defined Networking Network Management Network Management Systems \| Concepts and Tools \| Networking 101 \| IPv6 Migration Networking Hardware Ethernet Switch Buyer's Guide \| Wireless LAN Controller Buyer's Guide \| Wi-Fi The Next Step Forward for Enterprise User Experience New and next-gen technologies set to improve enterprise network user experience. By Arthur Cole \| Posted Aug 9, 2013 Page of \| Back to Page 1 EUC with HCI: Why It Matters Consumed by the duties of their day-to-day working lives, IT professionals often forget that data center networking isn't really about faster throughput, more bandwidth, or enhanced connectivity. At the end of the day, it's about improving the user experience. After all, if users can’t access data and applications in a timely fashion, productivity suffers, and the enormous investment in building and maintaining an advanced network architecture is all for naught. At many organizations, however, even though metrics like bandwidth and throughput have seen dramatic increases in the enterprise of late, enhancing the user experience, many users continue to experience better performance elsewhere – primarily on their personal networks. As Chris Preimesberger notes in his latest slideshow at ENP’s sister publication eWeek, the average enterprise employee is given only 41 kbps on the enterprise network, while at home 1 Mbps is not uncommon, many users seeing 10 Mbps or more. Small wonder, then, that many employees are diverting workloads, sometimes sensitive, critical workloads, onto their personal infrastructure. Fortunately, improving network performance doesn't always require more bandwidth or the deployment of high-speed components anymore. In the new era of virtual and software defined networking, many believe that making networks more agile, rather than larger and more powerful, is the key to enhanced user performance. Huawei, in fact, is building its entire SDN architecture around agile switch architectures like the S12700. The company says that features like automated network deployment and provisioning enable the platform to more easily adapt to changing workload and application environments. Not only does this unleash untapped network capacity often wasted in traditional network infrastructure, it also provides a more responsive enterprise data environment for end users. This kind of flexibility has its consequences, however, particularly if network configuration and management capabilities are pushed onto the application layer, as some futurists predict. Chief among them is the possibility that applications will get bogged down contesting for network resources or will in some way introduce configurations that cause overall network health to deteriorate. The most obvious remedy for this is thorough analysis of application network configuration modules, particularly the insertion messages they send to the controller to allocate resources. But even here, the enterprise needs to be careful not to overdo the analysis and introduce too much latency into the system. According to my colleague Jude Chao, SDN developers are already working on new generations of network configuration management technology. A system called VeriFlow showed impressive results during recent tests at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), performing message inspection and analysis in 1 millisecond or less with little or no impact on either TCP connection setup throughput or flow modification message throughput. This may be well and good for the wired portion of the enterprise network, but what about the wireless side? As more workers gravitate away from the desktop toward the laptop and smartphone, wireless connectivity will need to quickly come up to wired's levels, which is why bandwidth concerns still dominate. Ideally, organizations would like to enable parity between wired and wireless networks, but the industry is not quite there yet. The latest WLAN standard is the 7 Gbps 802.11ad “WiGig” approach that operates in the still-unlicensed 60 GHz range. This “small cell” approach is already drawing a fair amount of venture capital in preparation for the spec’s final release next February. It’s a good bet that volume shipments of WiGig systems are just around the corner. The network user experience can be measured in a number of ways: access and response times, availability, and reliability, all of which will likely see steady improvement as enterprises deploy new physical and virtual architectures. But probably the most profound change affecting users will be the ability to tailor the network to their own purposes, fostering both a heightened experience and more efficient use of resources. Having spent a lifetime trapped within the confines of available bandwidth and throughout, most users should find the transition to the new paradigm rather liberating. Arthur Cole covers networking and the data center for IT Business Edge. He has served as editor of numerous publications covering everything from audio/video production and distribution, multimedia and the Internet to video gaming. Get the Latest Scoop with Networking Update Newsletter	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line566
__label__wiki	0.997913	0.997913	FC Goa FC Pune City Kerala Blasters FC NorthEast United FC Odisha FC JDT leading the way for Malaysia in Asia Johor Darul Ta'zim Nov 22, 2018 John Duerden Cornthwaite's fresh start away from 'stagnant' A-League Perak Feb 25, 2018 Jason Dasey S.League hot shot Ramazotti joins PKNS Malaysia Super League Jan 30, 2018 Paul Murphy Perak want to 'do a Leicester City' in MSL Selangor FA denied return to Shah Alam Vietnam lose to Uzbekistan in AFC U23 final AFC U23 Championship Jan 27, 2018 Paul Murphy JDT stars Tan, Syamer to go to Portugal Malaysia Jan 25, 2018 Paul Murphy Malaysia U23 boss OKS to Atletico Madrid JDT to focus on MSL after ACL thrashing AFC Champions League Jan 23, 2018 Paul Murphy JDT thrashed 5-2 in ACL playoff in Thailand Safiq's JDT primed for ACL Thailand playoff Ong proves Malaysia doubters wrong AFC U23 Championship Jan 21, 2018 Michael Church Malaysia to learn from AFC U23 run - Ong Malaysia pipped in AFC U23 quarterfinal AFC: Ong says Malaysia can match S Korea Vietnam join Malaysia in AFC U23 quarters Sablon prodigies must fill S.League void Singapore Jan 17, 2018 Neil Humphreys Ong hails Malaysia AFC U23 giant killers Danial seals historic Malaysia U23 victory Perak TBG sign Cornthwaite from WSW Transfers Jan 15, 2018 AAP By ESPN Staff ATK, Mohun Bagan confirm merger; new club to compete in ISL 2020-21 Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions ATK will merge with I-League club Mohun Bagan in June 2020 and will compete as one team in the next ISL season. A press release stated that the "the new football club will have brand names of both ATK and Mohun Bagan." RPSG Group, which owns ATK, announced on Thursday that they will acquire a majority stake in Mohun Bagan Football Club, which will make them 80% shareholders with Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Private Limited owning the remaining... By Anirudh Menon ISL wrap: Captain Fantastic saves BFC, Hyderabad welcome Albert Roca A new year, a new decade, but some predictable stories. ESPN brings you the best of the week from the 2019-20 ISL season. In the league's first match of 2020, Bengaluru FC were extremely poor against a Goa side that passed them off the park for the vast majority of the game. Yet, BFC had Sunil Chhetri, and that made all the difference. Two chances, two masterful finishes, three points. In Bengaluru's second match, they were middling-to-alright against an average... By Debayan Sen ATK set to announce merger with Mohun Bagan Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions ATK are set to announce a merger with I-League club Mohun Bagan, one of the oldest and most successful teams in Indian football. ESPN understands that the two clubs have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with an official announcement to follow soon. However, details about the merged entity will only be known once the merger is made public. For the moment, ATK are in the race for top honours in the ISL, while Mohun Bagan are also in the... ISL - Hyderabad FC appoint Albert Roca as head coach Indian Super League franchise Hyderabad FC have named Albert Roca as their new head coach for the 2020-21 season on a two-year deal. According to an ISL media release, Roca, who had earlier coached Bengaluru FC to the AFC Cup finals, will advise the new coaching staff for the remainder of the season and will take full charge from the beginning of next season. "I am delighted to go back to the ISL. The road ahead is a challenging one and I am excited to get started at Hyderabad FC and build a strong... ISL - Hyderabad FC sack Phil Brown Indian Super League franchise Hyderabad FC and head coach Phil Brown have agreed to part ways, the club announced on Saturday. Brown, who had been head coach of Pune City at the time of the franchise's dissolution, was later appointed the first head coach of the newly formed Hyderabad FC. He was let go after a disastrous start to the season, which has seen Hyderabad win just one game out of twelve, losing nine and drawing two. With five points, they are rock bottom of the ISL table, six points off...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line570
__label__cc	0.704202	0.295798	About Parks and Recreation To facilitate the development and maintenance of safe and accessible passive and active park and recreational facilities to meet the identified needs and interests of the residents of East Fallowfield Township, Pennsylvania. Voting Members: Frederick Weiss Contact the Parks and Recreation Department by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Park Bench Donation Program The East Fallowfield Township ‘Park Bench Program’ offers donors the opportunity to dedicate a park bench in memory of a loved one or as a celebration of a special event such as a birth or marriage. Benches are placed at the East Fallowfield Township Park (900 Buck Run Road). The cost of a bench is $887 or $930 depending upon the size of the plaque placed on the bench. Click here for More Information on the Park Bench Program and to download an application form. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Join Us in Improving Planning Events and Our Park and Recreation Facilities ALL Park projects, events and grant funding applications are planned and conducted by VOLUNTEERS. Township road crew staff conduct maintenance and assist with physical work on Park projects, and office staff assist with administrative tasks, but VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to continue the following Park events and projects. A wide range of volunteer opportunities are available - from one-time events to long-term members of the Park & Recreation Commission. These offer a great opportunity to get involved with your community!!! 5 vacancies for Members of the Park & Recreation Commission (5-year terms. Evening meetings twice each month, plus approximately 2 to 4 hours per month of additional effort) Social Media Manager – to expand awareness and communication between Parks & Recreation Commission and the East Fallowfield community through messaging and maintaining the Park & Recreation Website and Facebook page. Supporting Park Day Event Volunteers – volunteers needed to assist in planning and hosting the event. Other Event Organizers/Volunteers – volunteers needed for other Park events and activities (e.g., Spring Egg Hunt, "Hats Off to Our Heroes" Memorial Day Event, etc.). These events have also been cancelled until further notice until volunteers can be found to plan, coordinate and conduct these events. Trail Tenders – volunteers needed to - once a year - clear light debris, pick up trash, check trails for general condition and report maintenance needs. Adopt a Garden – volunteers needed to - once in spring and once in summer – weed, prune and other light enhancements of a landscaped plant bed. Rain Garden Stewards – volunteers needed to learn how rain gardens work, help weed and replenish plantings as needed to keep the Park’s rain gardens attractive and functioning. Pond Watch – volunteers needed to join the hearty group that meets monthly April through September for 1 hour at the pond to monitor the water quality of the Park Pond. Grant Writing – volunteer needed to help draft and compile grant application packages. Have Another Idea? Is there another project or event that you’re interested in volunteering to do ? Let us know your thoughts! If you would like to get involved, please: email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. attend a meeting - Park & Recreation Commission meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm at the Township Building (or at the Park Pavilion during summer months). "Like" us at East Fallowfield Parks & Recreation Facebook page to receive periodic updates of Park & Recreation activities and projects. Park Users: Please review and follow the Park Rules – to view the complete list of Park Rules, please click here. The Park Rules have been carefully established to help ensure the enjoyment of the Park by ALL users, to protect the health, safety and welfare of Park users, and to protect the natural resources and facilities of the Park. Please respect other users at all times. The Park Rules for use of the Township’s Park and recreation facilities are established by Township Ordinance and enforceable by law. Please be mindful of Park Rules, including the rule to do no harm to wildlife or plants, and the rule to keep dogs on leash and under control of the owner at all times. Dog People! Let's Keep the Park Dog-Friendly The Park Rules and Township Ordinance # 2012-01 clearly state: Pets must be kept on a leash and under control of a responsible person at all times. Pet owners are required to clean up after their pets and deposit any used pet waste bags in a trash receptacle. (Pet owners are encouraged to use pet waste bags provided in the park). The Township is receiving increasing complaints regarding dog owners allowing dogs to run free in the Park. Please obey these simple Park rules so that dogs continue to be allowed in the Park and ALL users can feel comfortable and safe in the Park. Please clean-up after your dog/dogs - there are now 3 doggie stations in the Park,one at the gravel parking lot above the pone, one at the north end of the informal playfield, and one at Crossing Blvd. where the walking trail starts (off Rt. 82). Please use the trash cans provided (located by the three stations and elsewhere in the Park). Do NOT put the bags in the Port-A-Pottie. These and all Park Rules are enforceable by law with fines. Field Guide to Wildlife in the Park A field guide to wildlife in the East Fallowfield Community Park is available. It includes many interesting photos, facts and information about the natural resources in the Park. You can download it here, or they are available for $3 each at the township office. EFT Community Park Trail Map The East Fallowfield Community Park has 5 miles of paved, mowed and gravel trails !!! The East Fallowfield Community Park Trail Map is now available - click here to download your copy. Over 5 Miles of Trails in East Fallowfield Community Park The weather is warming up and it’s a great time to come to East Fallowfield Community Park to try out over 5 miles of trails. When you enter on Buck Run Road, you will be parked at the “Playing Field Loop”, a paved, ADA trail almost a half mile in length (.42 mile). As you pass by, be sure to check the postings at the Informational Kiosk built by Eagle Scout Ben Selin. Need a rest yet? Sit and watch the children play on the playground from one of the picnic table benches built by Chris Pearlberg for his Eagle project. Continue walking down the hill, winding your way to the beautiful pond. This “Pond Trail” is also ADA, a combination of paved and mulched trail, adding another half mile (.48 miles). Picnic tables near the pond were the work of Eagle Scout Joe Becker. After crossing the covered bridge over Dennis Run, built by Eagle Scout J. Hammond, you will find the “Mowed Meadow Trail” of over 1 mile (lower mowed trail, .47 mile ; upper mowed trail .60 mile). The lower trail takes you along the wood line. You can stop for a break at the beautiful benches built as an Eagle project by Jeff Schaeffer. For more of an adventurous trek, travel over the amazing twin bridges. This ambitious Eagle project was the work of Kyle Martin. Trails through the woods will lead you uphill to the park Fall-Out Shelter, restored by Eagle Scout Nick Massaro, and beyond. If instead you chose to continue on the mowed trail, enjoying the sunshine, you will meet up with our “Newly Dedicated Trail” (west-side trail.) Completing this will add another 1.35 miles to your trip. This walk is a mix of paved, gravel and grass trail; both hilly and flat. It takes you behind the East Fallowfield Police Station (on Rt. 82), across Crossing Blvd. and behind the Brook Crossing development. It starts out in the open, but continues into the shady woods, past wetlands and a dam. One section of this trail is steep- be sure to use the hand rail. There are several wooded trails to link back to the pond trail or mowed trails. While enjoying the trails in the park, please be sure to keep our park rules in mind. The park is open dawn to dusk. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the park. Pets are welcome, but must be leashed and under control at all times. You must clean up after your pets- several ‘Doggie Stations’ are available along the loop. Bicycles are permitted only on paved and gravel trails. A complete list of the rules can be found on this website. There is much flora and fauna to be seen- come prepared to identify them by purchasing “A Field Guide to Wildlife”- an identification guide written specifically for East Fallowfield Community Park. The color pamphlet may be purchased at the Township Building for $3.00 (to cover printing charges), or downloaded for free at this site. We hope you will take the time to explore the trails at East Fallowfield Community Park. Enjoy! Ongoing Park Improvements - Updates What’s In the Works The Park & Recreation Commission received grant funding from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the County of Chester to replace the footbridge over Dennis Run and construct trail improvements for the Lower Meadow Trail at the Park. The project includes replacement of the footbridge over Dennis Run with a larger bridge that will allow ALL Park users to cross the creek by meeting the width and design standards for the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). A small trail segment will be improved to connect the existing wetlands footbridge with the new Dennis Run footbridge. In addition, the Lower Meadow Trail (currently mowed) will be paved and will connect the east end of the Park with the west end of the Park. This paved trail will be built to ADA design standards to allow all Park users to enjoy the meadow and adjacent woodlands all the way to the northwest end of the meadow. Additional park benches, trash receptacles, interpretive educational signage and a butterfly garden will be added along the Lower Meadow Trail. Engineering design and permitting is underway, and the project is scheduled for construction in 2015. Also in 2015 – a new informational kiosk is planned to be installed as an Eagle Scout project in 2015. the Park entrance and road-side signs will be replaced. a wetland-enhancement tree planting project is being planned for the Spring. How Far We’ve Come !! Phase I of East Fallowfield Community Park was completed in 2010 and was funded by East Fallowfield Township, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the County of Chester. Improvements completed as part of Phase I include the paved trail, playground, paved parking lot, the rain gardens, and landscape plantings. In 2010, the Park & Recreation Commission also established a wonderful mowed meadow walking trail through the meadow along Strasburg Road. It has been in place for over two years and has become a very popular and well used feature of the Park. The Park & Recreation Commission has also requested that the Township manage this land area along Strasburg Road as a meadow, rather than as a mowed lawn. This means the entire meadow will be mowed only a few times per year rather than every 10 days to 2 weeks. This will encourage better wildlife habitat for song birds and other small mammals. And it will save the Township staff time and equipment and fuel costs by reducing the mowing frequency. As the vegetation will be growing taller between mowings, when it is cut, it will be hayed and removed. The mowed walking trail will be mowed frequently to maintain it as a comfortable walking environment for residents. Also in 2010, the Park & Recreation Commission raised funds through donations from local residents and businesses to help fund construction of the Patriotic Landmark. The Landmark serves as the focal point of the Park and serves to raise awareness of the Park to the residents of our community, and presents a renewed support of our Nation. It presents both the American and State flags. The Landmark was built with private funds and grant funding from PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Residents and businesses can purchase a commemorative brick that will be a permanent part of the Landmark (see information above). Also in 2010, the Park & Recreation Commission had three old groundwater monitoring wells “abandoned in place” and their “stick up” pipes removed. These wells were installed several years ago as part of an environmental site assessment completed for the former Strunk Chain Saw manufacturing activities and prior to transfer of the park land to the Township. Fortunately, no underground contamination was found. The three wells created “eyesores” and mowing obstructions where they “stuck up” above ground in the fields above the pond. The three wells were back-filled with grout in compliance with applicable “well abandonment” regulations and the “stick-up” pipes were removed. In 2011, the Park & Recreation Commission constructed the picnic pavilion and the wetlands footbridge at the pond. The pavilion has become a very popular addition for Park users and has served as the center of several Park events. It also adds a very attractive feature to the landscape of the Park. The pavilion was constructed with funding from the Township and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The footbridge spans an area of expanding wetland between the woodlands and the pond. This footbridge was badly needed as the area of the former path continued to become increasingly wet and impassable. The elevated footbridge now allows Park users to easily travers the wetland area and to stop along the way and enjoy the sites and sounds of the wetland, the pond and the woodlands. The footbridge was funded by the Township and a grant from PECO. In 2012 and 2013 efforts focused on applying for state and county grants for the bridge and trail improvements. 2014 focused on the engineering design and specifications for the improvements, pursuing grant funding for a Park Stewardship and Vegetation/Habitat Management Plan, planning replacement of the 3 Park entrance and road-side signs, planning a new informational kiosk for the Lower Meadow Trail, and initial planning for the tree planting project to enhance the wetlands in the upper meadow, among other activities. In 2015, the Park signs will be replaced at the Park entrance (Buck Run Road) and at the corners of Strasburg Road and Buck Run Road and Strasburg Road and Doe Run Road. The original signs have outlived their planned lifespan and have deteriorated beyond repair. The Lower Meadow Trail bridge and improvements will be constructed. Wetlands enhancement tree planting, informational kiosk project, and installation of additional bluebird boxes are planned, among other activities.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line572
__label__wiki	0.564318	0.564318	United States. Congress. House. Committee on Inter. Effectiveness of U.S. assistance programs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and the other newly independent states : hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, June 13, 1996 online . (page 1 of 26) Online Library → United States. Congress. House. Committee on Inter → Effectiveness of U.S. assistance programs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and the other newly independent states : hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, June 13, 1996 → online text (page 1 of 26) FPECTWENESS OF U.S. ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE, ARMENIA, AND THE OTHER NEWLY INDEPENDENT STATES Y 4. IN 8/16: R 92 ^^^^^^^^^^^ Effectiveness of U.S. Assistance Pr. BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS Printed for the use of the Committee c-n International Relations FEB 1 9 m? ' ' PHP.IiP. ijp^ 35_276CC WASHINGTON : 1996 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 FFECTWENESS OF U.S. ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Y 4. IN 8/16: R 92 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^'^^^^ Effectiveness of U.S. Assistance Pr.. "*\l1jiiv> ^=-^> FEB 1 9 1997 35-276 CC WASHINGTON : 1996 COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York, Chairman WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa TOBY ROTH, Wisconsin HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey DAN BURTON, Indiana JAN MEYERS. Kansas ELTON GALLEGLY, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina DANA ROHRABACHER, California DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois EDWARD R. ROYCE, California PETER T. KING, New York JAY KIM, California SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas DAVID FUNDERBURK, North Carolina STEV'EN J. CHABOT, Ohio MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South MATT SALMON. Arizona AMO HOUGHTON. New York TOM CAMPBELL, California LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut TOM LANTOS, California ROBERT G. TORRICELLI. New Jersey HOWARD L BERMAN, California GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York HARRY JOHNSTON, Florida ENl F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey ROBERT MENENDEZ. xNew Jersey SHERROD BROWN, Ohio CYNTHIA A. MCKINTSIEY, Georgia ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN, Maryland JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia VICTOR O. FRAZER. Virgin Islands (Ind.) CHARLIE ROSE, North Carolina PAT DANNER. Missouri EARL HILLIARD, Alabama Richard J. Garon. Chief of Staff Michael H. Van Dusen. Democratic Chief of Staff Mark Gage. Professional Staff Member Parker H. Brent, Staff Associate Ambassador Richard Morningstar, Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State on Assistance to the NIS, Department of State 6 The Honorable Thomas Dine, Assistant Administrator for Europe and the Newly Independent States, Agency for International Development 7 The Honorable John Ruberto, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs for Defense Con- version, Department of Defense 9 Ms. Joan Rohlfing, Director, Office of Non-Proliferation and National Secu- rity, Department of Energy 12 Ms. Anne Sigmund, Director, Office of East European and Newly Independent States Affairs, U.S. Information Agency 13 Prepared statements: Ambassador Morningstar 47 The Honorable Thomas Dine 61 The Honorable John Ruberto 89 Ms. Joan Rohlfing lOQ Ms. Anne Sigmund 114 Article entitled "To Russia with Cash", Reader's Digest, June 1996, sub- mitted by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher 121 Article entitled "Problems in American Assistance Policy Toward the Former Soviet Union: The Belarus Prism", Demokratizatsiya, Volume IV, Number 1, Winter 1996, submitted by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher 127 Article entitled "Bull in a China Shop: USAID's Post-Soviet Mission", Demokratizatsiya, Volume IV, Number 2, Spring 1996, submitted by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher 138 Additional information submitted by the Agency for International Devel- opment 162 Additional information submitted by the Department of State 166 Responses to additional questions submitted to the Department of State .. 169 EFFECTIVENESS OF U.S. ASSISTANCE PRO- GRAMS IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE, ARMENIA, AND THE OTHER NEWLY INDEPENDENT House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations, The coinmittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m. in room 2172, Raybum House Office Building, Hon. Benjamin A. Oilman (chair- man of the committee), presiding. Chairman Oilman. The committee will come to order. The International Relations Committee today will be taking tes- timony from a panel of five distinguished witnesses representing, I think, a good cross-section of those of our government agencies most actively involved in pursuing American interests in the states of the former Soviet Union. The committee has asked this panel to join us today in address- ing the general status of U.S. assistance programs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and the other Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union, but hopefully to address in particular the im- portant question of how effectively our programs are being imple- mented in support of American national interests in those coun- tries. I would like to take a moment to recognize and welcome our wit- nesses. First, we have before us once again our State Department Coordinator for U.S. Assistance in the Newly Independent States who is to be congratulated on his recent confirmation as Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Assistance to the NIS States. We welcome back Ambassador Morningstar. Mr. Morningstar. Thank vou, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Oilman. I thank you and I think you are starting to qualify for the category of old hand at appearing before our com- mittee now. I do not see any scars, at any rate. Second witness, the Assistant Administrator for Europe and the Newly Independent States at the Agency for International Develop- ment is no stranger to our committee and its hearings. We welcome you back, Mr. Dine. Mr. Dine. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Oilman. Also with us today is John Ruberto, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Bi- ological Defense Programs for Defense Conversion. Our welcome to you, sir. Mr. RUBERTO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Oilman. Representing our Department of Energy today is Ms. Joan Rohlfing, Director in the Department of Energy's Office for Non-ProHferation and National Security, We are pleased that you could be with us today, Ms. Rohlfing. Ms. Rohlfing. Thank you. Chairman Oilman. Your agency has a tough but very important job to do in trying to make certain that nuclear materials now in the territory of the former Soviet Union do not leak out into the hands of those around the world who have terrorist or aggressive agendas. We certainly look forward to having your thoughts on what your agency can do to fight this battle against so-called loose nukes. And last, but certainly not least, is Ms. Anne Sigmund, Director of the U.S. Information Agency's Office of East European and Newly Independent States Affairs who joined Ambassador Momingstar and Mr. Dine last November 14 in testifying before our committee. Welcome back, Ms. Sigmund. A large panel means a long introduction. I want to keep my re- marks brief so that our committee members and our witnesses can begin to address these important issues. Let me just point out to the members of our committee that to- day's hearing is intended to focus on our assistance program in the Newly Independent States. We have not asked that a State Depart- ment representative appear to address policy issues since we are hopeful that the committee will find time after the Russian Presi- dential elections to turn to the issue of our nation's relations with Russia and the other Newly Independent States. I would, therefore, ask that members focus their questions as much as possible on our assistance programs in the former Soviet states. Obviously, none of our witnesses today will be prepared to ad- dress questions outside of their sphere, unless they would like to. Let me just say that it is appropriate to focus at least one hearing on just our assistance programs. After all, they may well be the most important instruments in supporting American objectives in a region as important as that of the former Soviet Union. I would ask our witnesses to try to limit their statements to about 5 minutes each and submit their written statements for the record and we will take that without objection, if you could summa- rize as much as possible, since there are five witnesses and we would like to get into the dialog as quickly as possible. I would also ask our witnesses to do their best to describe for the committee how they see the programs for which they are respon- sible serving our nation's national interests in Russia, Ukraine, Ar- menia and the other nine states of the former Soviet Union. I would now like to ask our members if they have any opening statement. Mr. Bereuter. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to commend you for holding this hearing. I think there are few hearings that will be more important in the nature of the subject being discussed. I just wanted to explain to our witnesses that I do have a conflict, I am going to miss parts of it, but will be back as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chainnan Oilman. Thank you, Mr. Bereuter. Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your scheduHng this very important hearing for the purpose of ex- amining the effectiveness of U.S. assistance to the Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and other countries. Recognizing the shrinking pool of for- eign assistance resources, the effectiveness of each project must be reviewed and we must ensure that the assistance contributes sig- nificantly to overall U.S. policies and objectives toward that par- ticular country. Mr. Chairman, a disturbing number of analysts have concluded that the flurry of U.S. assistance to the emerging democracies of the former Soviet Union and its satellites has seen precious little fruit. That presents the question: Is it time for a change in the phi- losophy and nature of our assistance programs in Central and East European countries? Have we fostered false expectations that can never be realized and met by technical and financial assistance but only political and individual will by the individuals themselves? Are we providing enough of the tools for these countries to turn from centrally controlled economies, or have we simply provided the bandage which allows the respective governments to postpone the hard, painful decisions to cut certain government services? The U.S. objectives, it seems to me, must be realistic and, in most cases, pared down to suit the size of the foreign assistance being extended. The bulk of our aid in the region has been allo- cated for Bosnia and, Mr. Chairman, that project should be the subject of a separate hearing as it may have many unique and un- expected complications attached to it. Sizable packages have been designated for certain countries in this region, particularly the Ukraine, Russia and Armenia, which reflect U.S. strategic and national interests. Now it is time to e- flect, analyze and critique those programs. I, like Mr. Bereuter, will be in and out of this hearing because of another commitment. But I would hope that our distinguished panel will address some of these issues. I am also concerned about the diversion of funds that do not get to Armenia because of the continued blockading by Turkey of our assistance to Armenia. If you could talk pbout how much, in actual dollars and potential, has been lost as a direct result of that diver- sion and siphoning of funds. I have also recently had a hearing on the ongoing tragedy in Chernobyl. As you know, I chair the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and we heard devastating tales from the ambassadors of Belarus and the Ukraine about the children getting cancers and they were most appreciative of our AID efforts and other efforts. But, if you could please detail some of the expecta- tions and plans that you have for 1997 and beyond, especially as those cancers begin to balloon. The expectations were that, by the year 2005, the number of thyroid and other child cancers would ex- plode as, unfortunately, the effects of radiation begin to manifest themselves in those children. There were also disturbing reports of a number of Ukrainians moving back to contaminated areas, growing foods on contaminated soil, and consuming those foods and even selling them in Kiev, leading to a large number of stomach cancers. Perhaps you might want to give us some of your insights on that. So I look forward to your testimony and, again, like Mr. Bereu- ter, I will be in and out but I will look at the record and I thank you for your testimony. Chairman Oilman. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Mr. Campbell. Mr. Campbell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate your holding the hearing. I will just take a moment to put on the record that I nave an interest — ^my wife is the director of the University of California-Berkeley Business School project in Saint Petersburg, Russia and that program has received assistance from various U.S. Government sources. I come to this issue, of course, with an open mind on the basis of my own thinking and strong advice from home, but I did not wish my participation in this hearing in any way to fail for lack of disclosure of that fact. Chairman Oilman. Thank you, Mr. Campbell. Mr. Moran. Mr. Moran. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was not going to say anything until I heard my friend, Mr. Smith, suggest that we are tnrowing money at these independent states or that we had given them a significant amount of money and we have to be careful about how it is used. My concern is just the opposite. We had $2.4 billion initially in Fiscal Year 1994. We just passed that foreign operations appropriations bill this past week that brought it down to $590 million. That is about a 75 per- cent cut. So my concern is how are we possibly going to address all of the anticipated need for our assistance in the Newly Inde- pendent States? I think that really needs to be the focus — how we can possibly be a world player and cut the level of assistance as dramatically as we have? Mr. Smith. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. Moran. Yes. I would be happy to. Mr. Smith. One of the things that we did in this committee, and I did it because I offered the amendment and then encouraged the foreign ops appropriations chairman. Sonny Callahan, to do so and he did so and that was to provide a childhood and diseases account, and it is now being funded at $600 million. My concern has always been that when you are given a vast number of options that chil- dren often get second-rate or are put on the back burner and this legislation that we just passed focuses and targets limited re- sources — and they have gone down, admittedly, but everything is being pared down. I think our challenge is to see if we can get those scarce resources and target them in the most effective man- ner. And I think we are doing it responsibly. We have done far too little on diseases like guinea worm and a host of other diseases that are ravaging Africa. I have offered amendments in this committee that have passed and have gone on to be passed on the floor, to target those orphaned diseases which are getting scant attention around the world. We can save thou- sands of children, millions of children — there are two million dying in Africa every year from those preventable diseases — if we just put the money in. So I take back seat to no one on that. But we do have fewer resources. We just need to use them more effectively and I think that is the challenge for the executive and the legislative branch. Mr. MoRAN. OK, Well, I will reclaim my time. I do not disagree with funding the programs that you referred to. I think we ought to fund them more substantially. I do disagree with cutting the Newly Independent States, these emerging democ- racies, by 75 percent in a very short period of time. I think that is far too dramatic a cut and I want you to at least know — good, we have another Democrat here — ^but at least, for whatever it is worth, this Democrat thinks we cut assistance to this terribly cru- cial part of the world by far too much in far too dramatic and pre- cipitous a way and I want to know, particularly from this hearing, how these experts think that we can possibly meet the expectations that we developed in 1993, 1994, and 1995 with such a limited amount of financial assistance. So, anyway, I do not have any further statement than that. Chairman Oilman. Thank you, Mr. Moran. Mr. Hastings. Mr. Hastings. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing and I would associate myself with the remarks of my colleague, Mr. Moran, and the remarks in reply to him of my colleague, Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, this is an important hearing, I hope that a week from now, or 2 weeks from now, we will have a similar hearing be- cause after the elections in Russia on Saturday, all bets are off on most of the things that we are likely to ask or explore in trying to have our witnesses help us to focus on the effectiveness of U.S. as- sistance programs. Chairman Oilman. Mr. Hastings Mr. Hastings. Yes. Chairman Oilman. — as I indicated in my opening remarks, we intend to hold such a hearing. Mr. Hastings. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to make sure that we are mindful of that because we will be asking them today to make certain predictions and, week after next, they will have a little more certainty about a lot of things. Mr. Chairman, I strongly feel that we have mistakenly gone about our business in seeking efficiencies with reference to the Agency for International Development and the rather extraor- dinary cuts. Equally, I know that consulates and embassies all over the country and missions all over the world are closing because of our perceived problems that we are having with financial con- straints in this country. This past weekend, I participated in a dialog with Australian parliamentarians and business persons and to the man and woman that I spoke with, each one of them said that all of the world is looking to this country for leadership. There can be no better place for us to demonstrate that than in dealing with the Newly Inde- pendent States and I, for one, go on record as saying that I think our programs have been effective and left to their devices to play out in the area of democracy will rebound to the benefit of the United States of America, and. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Oilman. Thank you, Mr. Hastings. We will now proceed with the testimony. Ambassador Momingstar. STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR RICHARD MORNINGSTAR, SPE- CIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF STATE ON ASSISTANCE TO THE NIS Mr. MORNINGSTAR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you for your comments and for the comments from the other members of the committee. And I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the outlook for U.S. assistance to the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union. My colleagues and I are eager to give you a status report and to describe our plans for next year. We continue to provide assistance to the Newly Independent States because it is in our national interest. The U.S. assistance ef- fort has evolved and changed in response to lessons learned, ongo- ing change in the Newly Independent States, and budgetary con- straints. But the bottom line test for all of our assistance is how does the work that we do promote stability and mutual security to best serve our national interest. We continue to have the oppor- tunity and the responsibility to support, help and encourage the many citizens and organizations that are driving economic and po- litical change in the Newly Independent States. Significant progress has been made. Nonetheless, in many ways, the most dif- ficult phase of the transition for the average citizen is now. I testified before this committee last November and gave an over- view of the critical changes and new directions that the U.S. assist- ance program required to improve cost-effectiveness and quality. We have done many things, which include program consolidations, better management of the funding pipeline, more leveraging and coordination with other donors, and greater utilization of more cost-effective private voluntary organizations. And just one exam- ple, consolidation of our NIS Rule of Law programs will result in cost savings of several million dollars. We are also continuing to support innovative efforts to do more community-based initiatives and our new Community Connections Exchange Program is still another example that is already underway. I would like to say a few words about the three largest FREE- DOM Support Act recipients, the Ukraine, Russia and Armenia. In Ukraine, after 4 years of minimal progress on economic restructur- ing, a committed group of reformers under the leadership of Presi- dent Kuchma has started to make significant progress. We have worked intensively with the LTcrainian leadership, the IMF, and the World Bank to coordinate our objectives and to develop con- crete targets for privatization and economic restructuring. The three major thrusts of the program today in Ukraine, and looking forward to 1997, are economic reform, including privatiza- tion, small business development and agriculture; the areas of en- ergy, including, of course, the Chernobyl issues; and also democracy and anti-crime efforts. In Russia, as events of the last 6 months and the upcoming Pres- idential elections command the attention of the entire world, we are developing a plan for our 1997 assistance program that is prag- matic and consistent with the practical engagement theme of our diplomacy and flexible enough to be responsive to the Russians' level of commitment to reform and the actions of any democrat- ically elected government. Our assistance program directly sup- ports those individuals and non-governmental organizations who are out front in support of reform: independent journalists, dedi- cated legal reformers, community activists, entrepreneurs, and the youth that will make up the next generation of Russian leaders. The revised assistance program for Russia can be summarized as follows: First, we will continue limited technical assistance focused on high priority issues, such as tax policy, law enforcement, media, small business, non-governmental organizations, and those activi- ties that will be pursued only where committed Russian counter- parts exist. We will be stressing linkages between Americans and Russians: stepped up exchanges, training, trade and investment support, small grant programs, and the leverage with multi- national and other bilateral donors. And, in the security area, we will certainly continue in the area of weapons dismantlement, ma- terials accountability and control, and nuclear reactor safety pro- grams. Armenia would receive the third largest portion of our Fiscal 1997 request. This year, more than half of our assistance effort — in fact, well more than half of our assistance effort to Armenia — is devoted to humanitarian assistance. The remaining technical as- sistance is for economic restructuring and the development of a civil society. In 1997, we would seek to continue to increase the proportion of development and economic restructuring assistance relative to strictly humanitarian aid in order to do the best job that we can to help Armenia provide for itself. And they are making some sig- nificant progress. Mr. Chairman, your support for our assistance programs in the NIS will demonstrate confidence that the United States can and should support the historic transition now underway in the former Soviet Union. This transition can make Americans more secure and more prosperous. Thank you for your support and I look forward to answering your Using the text of ebook Effectiveness of U.S. assistance programs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and the other newly independent states : hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, June 13, 1996 by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Inter active link like: read the ebook Effectiveness of U.S. assistance programs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and the other newly independent states : hearing before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line573
__label__cc	0.722464	0.277536	Director of Special Services, Ms. Sue Boyle sboyle@jagschools.org JAG Integrated Preschool Program Adopted Preschool Policy The James A. Garfield Local Schools operates a preschool program for students aged 3-5. Mrs. Rebecca Foss Email: rfoss@jagschools.org Mrs. Foss is an energetic teacher that has a passion for teaching young children. This is her third year teaching. She has numerous experiences in multiple classrooms while receiving her undergraduate degree at Walsh University. She graduated Walsh Cum Laude and was part of the International Honor Society in Education. Mrs. Foss holds an Early Childhood (Pk-3) and an Early Childhood Intervention Specialist (P-3) Ohio teaching license. She has been trained to give multiple preschool assessments, as well as what to do in emergency situations and how to keep her classroom safe. She looks forward to spending each day in her classroom to make a difference in many different lives. Mrs. Meghan Brandes Email: meghanbrandes@jagschools.org Mrs. Brandes loves young children and has spent the last 21 years teaching special education in a variety of settings. She completed her undergraduate work in Special Education at Miami University and received her Master’s Degree from Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Prior to teaching in the integrated preschool classroom setting, Mrs. Brandes taught for 10 years at the kindergarten level working with students who needed support learning early literacy skills. She holds an Education of the Handicapped (K-12) certification and an Early Childhood Intervention Specialist (P-3) license in Ohio, and she was nominated for Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Award in 2001. Teaching preschool has been a long-held dream, and she strives to make a difference in each of her students’ lives. Preschool screenings are generally held twice a year, once in the Fall and again in the Spring. Appointments can be made by calling the Special Services Office at 330.527.5524. Handbooks for each year can be viewed by clicking the links below. Preschool Administrator- Ms. Keri Leindecker, PK-3 Principal of James A. Garfield Elementary School email: kleindecker@jagschools.org Director of Special Services - Ms. Sue Boyle email: sboyle@jagschools.org Below are links to Preschool resources that may be helpful to parents and students. Departments & Standards Ohio Department of Education Homepage Ohio Department of Education - Special Education Topics Ohio's Early Learning Standards (Birth-PreK) Early Childhood Ohio Portage County District Library - Garrettsville Calendar of Events Portage County Health Department	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line575
__label__cc	0.604019	0.395981	The Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children by Jane Andrews The Story of the Amber Beads The New Life The Talk of the Trees That Stand in the Streets How the Indian Corn Grows Water-Lilies The Carrying Trade The Frost Giants How Quercus Alba Went To Explore the Underworld Treasure-Boxes A Peep into One of God's Storehouses The Hidden Light Sixty-two Little Tadpoles Golden-Rod and Asters I T is May,—almost the end of May, indeed, and the Mayflowers have finished their blooming for this year. It is growing too warm for those delicate violets and hepaticas who dare to brave even March winds, and can bear snow better than summer heats. Down at the edge of the pond the tall water-grasses and rushes are tossing their heads a little in the wind, and swinging a little, lightly and lazily, with the motion of the water; but the water is almost clear and still this morning, scarcely rippled, and in its beautiful, broad mirror reflecting the chestnut-trees on the bank, and the little points of land that run out from the shore, and give foothold to the old pines standing guard day and night, summer and winter, to watch up the pond and down. Do you think now that you know how the pond looks in the sunshine of this May morning? If we come close to the edge where the rushes are growing, and look down through the clear water, we shall see some uncouth and clumsy black bugs crawling upon the bottom of the pond. They have six legs, and are covered with a coat of armor laid plate over plate. It looks hard and horny; and the insect himself has a dull, heavy way with him, and might be called very stupid were it not for his eagerness in catching and eating every little fly and mosquito that comes within his reach. His eyes grow fierce and almost bright; and he seizes with open mouth, and devours all day long, if he can find any thing suited to his taste. I am afraid you will think he is not very interesting, and will not care to make his acquaintance. But, let me tell you, something very wonderful is about to happen to him; and if you stay and watch patiently, you will see what I saw once, and have never forgotten. Here he is crawling in mud under the water this May morning: out over the pond shoot the flat water-boatmen, and the water-spiders dance and skip as if the pond were a floor of glass; while here and there skims a blue dragon-fly, with his fine, firm wings that look like the thinnest gauze, but are really wondrously strong for all their delicate appearance. The dull, black bug sees all these bright, agile insects; and, for the first time in his life, he feels discontented with his own low place in the mud. A longing creeps through him that is quite different from the customary longing for mosquitoes and flies. "I will creep up the stem of this rush," he thinks; "and perhaps, when I reach the surface of the water, I can dart like the little flat boatmen, or, better than all, shoot through the air like the blue-winged dragon-fly." But, as he crawls toilsomely up the slippery stem, the feeling that he has no wings like the dragon-fly makes him discouraged and almost despairing. At last, however, with much labor he has reached the surface, has crept out of the water, and, clinging to the green stem, feels the spring air and sunshine all about him. Now let him take passage with the boatmen, or ask some of the little spiders to dance. Why doesn't he begin to enjoy himself? Alas! see his sad disappointment. After all this toil, after passing some splendid chances of good breakfasts on the way up, and spending all his strength on this one exploit, he finds the fresh air suffocating him, and a most strange and terrible feeling coming over him, as his coat-of-mail, which until now was always kept wet, shrinks, and seems even cracking off while the warm air dries it. "Oh," thinks the poor bug, "I must die! It was folly in me to crawl up here. The mud and the water were good enough for my brothers, and good enough for me too, had I only known it; and now I am too weak, and feel too strangely, to attempt going down again the way I came up." See how uneasy he grows, feeling about in doubt and dismay, for a darkness is coming over his eyes. It is the black helmet, a part of his coat-of-mail; it has broken off at the top, and is falling down over his face. A minute more, and it drops below his chin; and what is his astonishment to find, that, as his old face breaks away, a new one comes in its place, larger, much more beautiful, and having two of the most admirable eyes!—two, I say, because they look like two, but each of them is made up of hundreds of little eyes. They stand out globe-like on each side of his head, and look about over a world unknown and wonderful to the dull, black bug who lived in the mud. The sky seems bluer, the sunshine brighter, and the nodding grass and flowers more gay and graceful. Now he lifts this new head to see more of the great world; and behold! as he moves, he is drawing himself out of the old suit of armor, and from two neat little cases at its sides come two pairs of wings, folded up like fans, and put away here to be ready for use when the right time should come: still half folded they are, and must be carefully spread open and smoothed for use. And while he trembles with surprise, see how with every movement he is escaping from the old armor, and drawing from their sheaths fine legs, longer and far more beautifully made and colored than the old; and a slender body that was packed away like a spy-glass, and is now drawn slowly out, one part after another; until at last the dark coat-of-mail dangles empty from the rushes, and above it sits a dragon-fly with great, wondering eyes, long, slender body, and two pairs of delicate, gauzy wings,—fine and firm as the very ones he had been watching but an hour ago. The poor black bug who thought he was dying was only passing out of his old life to be born into a higher one; and see how much brighter and more beautiful it is! And now shall I tell you how, months ago, the mother dragon-fly dropped into the water her tiny eggs, which lay there in the mud, and by and by hatched out the dark, crawling bugs, so unlike the mother that she does not know them for her children, and, flying over the pond, looks down through the water where they crawl among the rushes, and has not a single word to say to them; until, in due time, they find their way up to the air, and pass into the new winged life. If you will go to some pond when spring is ending or summer beginning, and find among the water-grasses such an insect as I have told you of, you may see all this for yourselves; and you will say with me, dear children, that nothing you have ever known is more wonderful. Table of Contents \| Index \| Home \| Previous: The Story of the Amber Beads \| Next: The Talk of the Trees That Stand in the Streets Copyright (c) 2005 - 2020 Yesterday's Classics, LLC. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line576
__label__wiki	0.965582	0.965582	Gay Married Men Living with you sexuality Meeting Men Wives and Families warning: Creating default object from empty value in /home/gaymarriedmen/public_html/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33. Welcome to the new Gay Married Men's website Are you a married man, or in a relationship with a woman, and have feelings towards men? Do you want to chat and socialise in a confidential environment with other men in a similar situation to you? Then the Married Men's Group might be for you. I was with my wife for around eight years and whilst always knowing there was something different about my sexual orientation, I just tried to ignore it in the hope that it would go away. But it never really went away, not if I'm honest. I just became a lost person and buried myself in work. Eventually I started feeling quite down. I'd became the least important person in my life. I couldn't have cared if I lived or died, which was so sad and unnecessary, looking back at it. Certain things happened in my life and I decided that I wanted to live a gay lifestyle - whatever that was. I did not even know that other gay people existed outside London, never mind other married gay men. But at the time, it didn't matter. I just wanted to not feel guilty about the things I thought about. So I told her. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. There were times I didn't think I had the strength to make it as I didn't have anyone I could talk to. I didn't know about such things as support for people like me, and didn't even think I was worthy of support. But that was 15 years ago and things are fine now. I feel like a real human being and able to take on the world as a full member of society. And that's why I got involved with the Married Men's Group: to help blokes who are in a similar situation to me all those years ago. ShareThis \| Tags: gay, group, home, manchester, married, meeting gay married men, gay married man, married gay man, married gay men, married man gay, married men gay, bisexual married men, bisexual married man, bi married men, bi married man, gamma, gay dad, gay curious, bi curious, group, support, manchester, england, gay married men, gay married man, married gay man, married gay men, married man gay, married men gay, bisexual married men, bisexual married man, bi married men, bi married man, gamma, gay dad, gay curious, bi curious, group, support, manchester, england, gay married men, gay married man, married gay man, married gay men, married man gay, married men gay, bisexual married men, bisexual married man, bi married men, bi married man, gamma, gay dad, gay curious, bi curious, group, support, manchester, england, gay married men, gay married man, married gay man, married gay men, married man gay, married men gay, bisexual married men, bisexual married man, bi married men, bi married man, gamma, gay dad, gay curious, bi curious, group, support, manchester, england About Us \| Privacy Statement Site design and hosting by Rainy City Design	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line577
__label__cc	0.529546	0.470454	Giant in the Playground Forums > Gaming > Roleplaying Games > Ideas for a wuxia/ToB campaign View Full Version : Ideas for a wuxia/ToB campaign Shpadoinkle I'm plan to be running a wuxia styled game in a while. How long a while iis iffy, but I'd say it will be at least two months before we actually begin. THe characters will start at level 1 and probably be wither ToB classes, or classes from OA. Right now I'm mostly looking for plot hooks. What I've got so far is that a royal heirloom or relic has been stolen, and the PCs are charged with retreiving it for whatever reason, like they're being groomed as elite troubleshooters or something and this would be a way of testing thier progress. As a reward for this, they'd be granted a legacy weapon, or have the powers of whatever weapons they started with "awakened," and they'd be able to advance them like the OA samurai does (I know there's an official variant like this somewhere but I don't recall where I saw it). After that I've pretty much drawn a blank. Suggestions for why the relic was stolen or other plot hooks that tie in with it would be greatly appreciated, but by no means am I rejecting any ideas not related to that. chiasaur11 I've heard legacy weapons are more trouble than they're worth. On the helpful side of things, the PCs could be chosen because they're disposable. You know, if trouble comes up they can be disowned without any damage to the reputation of those in power. Better still if no-one tells the PCs this. SurlySeraph Step 1: Watch the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Step 2: Take the stats of some artifact sword to take the place of the Green Destiny from the movie. Step 3: Steal the plot. Step 4: write down "????" as is required by law. Kris Strife You forgot Step 5: Write down "Profit". The missing relic could be causing disasters (weather-related, the dead walking, whatever) as long as it's away from its proper place. These might not be obvious to the people who sent the PCs on their mission, but the PCs'd lose face if they went back to say the job was too big for them (& correspondingly look really good if they did the job anyway.) Some sort of system for tracking honor/respect would help here. ShneekeyTheLost I think recovering a major artifact is a teeny bit overpowered a campaign for a 1st level group, even ToB. Here's some ideas: 1) Escort <Random NPC Noble Here> from Point A to Point B. He's a fop, who likes to think he knows how to 'sword dance', and will brag about his prowess with a blade at length. He will also brag about having never lost a match. The reason why he has never lost a match is because his only bouts were either against his weaponsmaster, who fears for his job if he beats his pupil, or soldiers, who are under orders from said weaponsmaster to loose to the Master He's an arrogant, snobbish, incompetent git. But he's also a high-ranking noble, or more likely, Heir to a noble. As such, he ranks the party on the social ladder by a few eons. They are told ahead of time that if they even imply by absentee that he might not be the most perfect thing that has ever excreted gold bricks that they will be hung. So they have to put up with his arrogant demeanor, and like it. Well, he's also going with enough jewelry to start his own nation, should he decide to, plus a couple of very attractive Geisha-ladies. The PC's are the ONLY ones on guard, because no one else is stupid good enough to be trusted with the Noble's life. Needless to say, they attract bandits like moths to a flame. Even better, he thinks that he is the world's best swordsman. He's got a Mastercrafted sword. He's also a Level 1 Aristocrat, who barely has proficiency in his weapon, and no BAB to speak of. Combine this with physical stats around 10-11, and you have a real problem when he charges gloriously into battle. He will, of course, do his best to try to win glory for himself, which will include running head first into several opponents (who are level 1 Rogues, and will exploit Flanking ruthlessly), leaving the PC's no choice but to follow and salvage the situation. If the party makes it through, he will later boast about how he had to save his own guards with his might. However, if the party can keep their cool, not loose their heads, and keep the kid alive, the father (who has a clearer understanding of his son's lack of expertise) will quietly but handsomely reward the party for keeping his foolish son alive. Whatever it is, it had better involve hopping vampires. I <3. DarknessLord You could make the stolen family heirloom a double test, not only were they dispatched so their superiors could evaluate their skills, but it was in fact stolen by another group for the exact purpose of testing this new group of trouble shooters. You can start dropping hints about this other group being interested in them, as well as hints of corruption in the organization they've sworn to serve, eventually leading up to the point where someone from the other group gets in contact with them and gives them an option to join them. This could give your group an interesting moral dilemma to uphold their oaths and loyalty to their organization which is no longer as good or just as they thought it was, or to break those oaths and side with this group that opposes them, who while maybe not morally pure themselves, are certainly striving to improve things. Either way, the PCs and their Kung-fu ToB kick butting skills are at the forefront of this conflict between their current organization and this new group, I'd also keep the evil or their current organization proportional to their loyalty to it. If they are meh about serving it could be something simple as the taxes/prices are too high, but that's not gonna be much motivation if they are dedicating their victories "To the emperor may he have a long and blessed live!" or whatever. I'm not 100% sure that would fit with themes you'd want to go with depending, but it's just what came to me.... Before you see my suggestion, I would like to preface this that you really should be looking to the players for your source of plot. Doing that will almost always ensure that they will join on creating the plot more enthusiastically. Let their back-stories and characterizations guide the storyline. It will be a lot more satisfying for them and a lot less railroading for you. (which means far less work) Having said that, you can always provide seeds for them to work with. 1. vengeance is always a popular trope in martial arts novels. The player should be the one to create the base "feel" of the villain if you do that. 2. another very common theme in martial art novels is the manual that contains the secrets to a school of martial arts. (i.e. Kungfu Panda anyone?) In fact, in a lot of stories, entire families and clans were killed and exterminated over a secret martial arts manual. How does this fit into your game? well, you can always say that a particular school or discipline is off limits until a character was either trained by a master or was able to read through and digest the manual / scroll itself. Or you can make it a whole new discipline that can only be accessed by reading the manual. 3. in Jing Yong novels, a lot of stories are about patriotism, nationalism, and how the heroes ultimately become movers and shakers of their country not by virtue of their skills, but by the inspiration they become. 4. the process of realizing hidden potential is another one. Villains do so at whatever the cost, heroes do so honorably but must often question the price he pays for it. This potential though, doesn't have to be raw kung fu power per say. It could be a kungfu blacksmith making the ultimate sword, and the lengths he goes to in order to do so. (i.e. he kills a sacred Kirin for it's blood in order to imbue it's magic upon the blade) Or it can be a calligraphy master who uses his kung fu as an expression of his art, and that his martial art skills are simply a means to feed into his art. If you want a classic one, just go the Akuma route, and you got a lot to work with there. Though, any Akuma-esque characters should really be subplot since there is only so much you can do with an Akuma villain. Xuincherguixe For awhile, I was playing a Korean MMORPG, 9 dragons. It had an awesome background which you were in no way involved in. The basic premise, was that there were 9 martial arts masters. Not just masters, but so skilled they were supernatural. If not simply supernatural to begin with. "Dragon" being a title. None were actually dragons. They formed into two groups (well, one seemed to abstain...) The white clans, who supported the emperor, and the black clans who were trying to overthrow him. The war continued as lives were lost, until a wandering vegabond manged to get stop the war, and these 9 dragons would fight amongst themselves to decide the victor. No one ever heard from them again, but the fighting ceased. Until now. (Now being the time at which the game starts). Each clan had an interesting history. Clan Heavenly Demon was founded by a man who self titled himself Emperor Heavenly Demon. Legend has it that he was a brilliant, devout Zoroastrian. Who could recite the entire holy text by memory. Then, he supposedly touched an evil book. At which point he could only recite the exact opposite of the contents. Upon seeing how corrupt the officials of the emperor were, he made it his quest to overthrow him. As such he founded Clan Heavenly Demon. They used variations on the emperors kung fu, as well as strange forms of unknown inspiration. Very likely of demonic origin. (It's not entirely clear if "real demons" exist or not) While Clan Heavenly Demon was viciously cruel, it was only to their enemies. When joining, you are told to recite the line "remember the weak and the elderly". They were expected to fight with honor. Hence the "heavenly" demon. In the absence of Emperor Heavenly Demon however, the clan has become beset with infighting, and many have become nothing more than thugs. Some believe he had reincarnated in the form of an extremely gifted, murderous child. Others believe he has yet to return. Yeah, that's the clan I ended up joining :P The tended towards large heavy sabres for weapons The other clans I found weren't QUITE as interesting, but had good background. The brotherhood of thieves were an organization of bandits, who attacked the emperors forces, giving money to poor peasants. With the lack of their leader, many of them turned to simply robbing and pillaging everyone. They used spears and axes. Sacred Flower was a group militant feminists. Their leader having been kidnapped by Emperor Heavenly Demon, with the intent of making her his wife. Having escaped and on the run, she came across a Shaolin Temple in the way. When asked if she could go through, she was told more or less, "It is bad karma that has led to you being unable to enter." Even though her life was in danger, they wouldn't let her pass. She managed to escape anyways, vowing that she would change the world such that women would not be victimized. They use knives and death fans. For obvious reasons, female only clan. Now, I can understand an alliance between Heavenly Demon and the Brotherhood of Thieves, but for some reason it never explained why Sacred Flower was ALSO a black clan. Something that always puzzled me. The white clans include the previously mentioned Shaolin. Their Dragon was the Immoral Monk. In an effort to determine how best to fight Heavenly Demon, he started doing things like eating meat, gambling, and drinking. At least as to justify why he was engaged in these activities, he said that he was "learning." As previously indicated, male only clan. I forget what weapons they tended towards. The league of beggars, were... well, beggars who had learned kung fu. Expected to swear off material possessions, and beg, perform, and occasionally extort or steal money. They have the best sounding martial art name in the form of "Drunken Monkey". The Wu Tang clan is not in fact a rap group, but sword users. Or rather, straight sword users. There's something of a difference here. Well Wu-Tang sword fighting tended towards a balance of offense and defense, Heavenly Demon was pure reckless offense. Not an entirely bad strategy mind you, since their heavy sabers in theory could smash right through Wu-Tangs lighter swords. The other groups not so much information on. They weren't included quite yet, and I stopped playing before they were introduced. Why did I mention all of that? I had given some thought to running a campaign in a world based on that setting. Or at least taking elements of. You may have noticed that the so called "Black" Clans were not necessarily villainous. However, all had the danger of going over the edge. Even Heavenly Demon had it's fair share of heroes. The white clans were not necessarily good either. They supported the establishment. If it was D&D, I would say it's a battle between order and chaos. Though really, it's a clash of ideals. That, is probably something which would be a good element in a Wuxia campaign. It's not a fight between good and evil. Both sides are right. And not necessarily will the PCs be able to resolve the fighting without defeating one of the sides. As touched upon already, this is a genre filled with what we would generally consider anti heroes. So don't be afraid to let in a few types with some "villain" like qualities. Blue Paladin I'm totally cribbing from Jin Yong's Condor series here. - There's a martial arts competition where the best martial artists in the world gather, fighting for the ultimate prize: a special kung-fu manual. This hook is a good way to disabuse your players of the notion that they are the best in the world. It's a way to show off high level maneuvers without using them on your players directly. Jin Yong had five ultimate masters of their respective arts, which is a small enough number to show a wide variety of styles and not big enough of a mob to be unwieldy (as a full complement of a master of each Nine Swords school could prove to be). It has a nice macguffin in the manual (which could be lost? or perhaps it crosses paths with the PCs at some later date). - Warring factions are searching for a lost manual of battle tactics. It contains the distilled knowledge of the greatest general in recent history. Its secrets could mean the difference between victory and defeat for the army! The party could garner great praise from the emperor if they could recover this national treasure... Another book-based macguffin. An obvious starting point would be the tomb of the great general, searching for clues as to where it might have gone. Maybe the fortress where the general held out against impossible odds for long years? Or a cave system near the general's hometown, which he enjoyed exploring in his youth. It's a great excuse for dungeon crawls of all types. Or maybe the manual was stolen! Cue chase scene. - The man who killed one of the PCs parents... is the adoptive parent of one of the PCs! It's a typical wuxia revelation, where a character faces conflicting loyalties. Usually bonds of family, martial school, friendship, love. And they all pull in different directions. In the above case, there's the familial requirement of revenge versus the bond of sworn brotherhood. In Jin Yong's original story, at one point the protagonist swears vengeance for his murdered sifu(s). Even though he knows he is utterly outclassed in martial arts. Even though he swears it against his love interest's father. The very same love interest for whom he had previously flouted all jiangwu convention! - A man is targeted for death by a noble. Through a fluke, the man himself survives and spends years wandering. It so happens that he discovers his wife also survived... and is living in the care of the noble who plotted his death! For bonus angst, he also discovers his son (now grown) accepting said noble as his adoptive parent. This is just messed up in general. But that just means it has lots of potential. In the story, the protagonist was sworn brothers with the noble's adopted son... who can't accept that his true father was a simple farmer, after living his life in the luxury of nobility. - An apothecarist has been raising a particular rare breed of snake, feeding it human blood (perhaps even from living victims; there's a plot hook if ever I saw one: villagers are going missing! the local apothecarist swears he knows nothing...). Ultimately, he will feed on the snake's blood and become an even more powerful martial artist. In the original story, the main protagonist comes across said snake (okay, he fell in a pit). While being constricted, the snake bites him; being the rather simple sort, the protagonist returns the favor, biting the snake. Some of the snake's blood gets in his mouth, and lo and behold, his martial arts gets a boost. Kinda cheezy and very happenstance as it occurs in the book; with Knowledge checks and maybe Martial Lore, maybe one of your PCs could recognize the snake first? - A legendary martial artist sage lives on a mysterious island, where the trees and the elements combine to deny entry to would be visitors. But he is the only one who knows the mysterious alchemy involved in bringing someone back to life... Okay, in d20 that's as simple as a Raise Dead spell. But in the original story, this is pretty heavy stuff. A combination of medicine at its highest level, plus martial arts at <i>its</i> highest level, in order to bring back his dead wife... As far as d20 hooks go, this is more setting hook than plot hook. But you can adapt as you see fit. That's all I have time for right now, and I didn't even mention anything involving the Genghis Khan aspect of the story... Hope these provide some seeds for thought. All of this stuff is excellent, thank you all so much. I really appreciate the ideas you've posted, and if anyone has any others, please feel free to add them. Blue Paladin, you're awesome for bringing those up. BTW, for those who are interested, the Nine Swords master actually is featured as a constant backdrop character in Jing Yong's books. There are parts of the book that actually do a study of his swordsmanship growth over the years that is immensely interesting. I've cribbed those passages as the basis for a number of my NPCs in my old Wuxia campaign. here's the incarnation in my game Hu Qiao Age: let's say, mid 60s Appearance: stereotypical chinese master look. He's an unassuming old man, seemingly frail, soft spoken, he carries an intensity within him that he hides beneath his soothing platitudes. Something like this: http://www.jungyaemo.com/images/Grand%20Master%20Bok%20Man%20Kim.jpg Hu Qiao has dedicated his life to the mastery of the sword. through out his life, his swordsmanship often became a reflection of his own philosophical growth. This growth can be seen in both his translated memoirs and by examining the choice of his weapon. It is believed by many a great masters, that the way of the sword is not just a weapon, but a way of life. Like many of those masters, I have dedicated my entire life in this pursuit, almost obsessively trying to find the ultimate sword. The perfect strike, so to speak. And yet, after 50 years of study, contemplation, and strife, I have came to this horrible realization: There is no perfect strike. No strike, by virtue of being a strike, can possibly be perfect. The need of the strike alone, has already tainted the very notion of perfection. I have mapped out my own progression for those who will come after me to bare witness and perhaps learn from what meager wisdom I may have traded for with my youth. There are 3 levels of swordsmanship: 1st level: You and your blade is one. Your blade is nothing more than an extension of limbs and it's manipulation is no more natural than use of your own hands. You strike like lightning, without hesitation and with blinding accuracy. 2nd level: Speed of thought. That is the crux of the second level. You understand now that all strikes stem not from the limb, the arm, or the body. But rather, it strikes from the mind. With the mind, the will and the heart is what initiates your strike and it is what guides the rest of you. That mind alone, is the source of the weapon. As such, you no longer need your blade. You don't even need a weapon. With your bare hands, you may strike at a foe from 100 paces, using nothing but your own chi. 3rd level: The end of thought. I came to realize and understand the nature of conflict and strife. With the very notion of conflict comes unending strife. The will of the blade begets more conflict and ultimately violence. To end that will, is to achieve ultimate peace, for if the will for conflict is what initiates the blade, then to release that will, is to attain ultimate mastery over the self once again. After all, if one were to strike without thought, one is not thinking. And without the will to strike, one will know peace. with that, he can feel the world around him, react to it in the most natural way. He is like the water, who parts and moves in a stream around his obstacles. There is no conflict, no strife, only knowledge. --- the late Master Hu Qiao Through his life, he has cycled through several weapons: The Blue Iron This is a Chinese Jian of exquisite quality, very much the stuff that makes the Green Dynasty pale by comparison. During this period in his life, Hu Qiao was a man in his earl to late 20s, driven mostly by the desire to excel in his ability to strike fast and strike accurately. Blue Iron Hu Qiao fights primarily by using precise strikes, feints, and highly coordinated combination strikes. That is, at this stage, he is basically a rush down character with the ability to deliver a large number of strikes very quickly and with great level of precision. Xuan Sword Xuan Sword shows Hu Qiao's further development into the "fast" sword philosophy, where his strikes were becoming faster, and faster. The Xuan Sword is even lighter than the Blue Iron, and is made with much more flexible material. As such, this weapon, while not nearly as good for defending against blows, allows him to create even more complex and dizzy sword play. his feints now are even less predictable than before, but at the price for the loss of his ability to block some of the heavier hits. As such, Hu Qiao at this stage in his development (somewhere in his early 30s now) had to rely more on his own maneuverability to evade damage than on traditional parrying work. Heavy Iron Sword The Xuan Sword faired well for Hu Qiao. He was faster than he has ever been in his life, and he has begun to build a name for himself in the Wuxia world. Unfortunately, his reputation is not one of a great swordsman, but one of a great assassin, a murderer. While his strikes became faster and faster, his capacity for others decreased as he resorted more and more often to his blade. In a moment of clarity, he realized what he had become, and he gave up the fast sword in the hopes of finding something that felt right to him. Enter the Heavy Iron sword. The Heavy Iron sword is heavy. Much heavier than the average weapon, and requires considerably more muscle strength to use properly. In addition to that, his sword play had to return to basics, utilizing far simpler strikes with far more power behind each one. The Heavy Iron sword period helped build his strength, but it wasn't getting him anywhere that he wanted. To be brutally frank, while his temperament had calmed somewhat, he felt like he was merely a brute swinging a very large piece of metal at times. He then realized an aspect of him that he had not developed, his internal chi. He was still, for all intensive purposes, being defined by the weapon he picked up and by the strength of his blows. In the end, while he had switch to a heavier weapon that required a bit more pause, he was essentially still working on the same path. He once again gave up the Heavy Iron sword, and picked up a wooden tai chi sword. It was a simple and fragile weapon that is only used in training. With the adaption of this weapon, however, he began to see himself develop a new way of the sword - the tai chi sword. While he might not be able to match the sheer brute force of the heavy iron or the speed and maliciousness of the Xuan sword, this new territory he is exploring had taught him the art of using your chi to defend yourself. With the wooden sword, he could by simply making contact with his foe's blade, attempt to read his movements through his foes chi and defend accordingly. while capable of very devastating strikes, his primary strength now is his ability to flow like the water around his opponent, deflecting each blow with the slightest movement. Swordless This is Hu Qiao at the height of his sword play. At this stage, he has gained the ability to manifest a weapon just by using his own chi, and can use said chi to enhance his own ability to move, defend and control nearly every aspect of his own body to fantastical affects. Swordless Hu Qiao can manifest any of the previous weapon forms, depending upon the situation. In addition, he also has the power to release all of his internal energy into his foe. When not manifesting a weapon, he also can move at great speed, and sometimes can use his chi to create what seems like an inertial barrier to deflect attacks. about Hu Qiao's school Many have regarded this text as the formulative philosophy behind the Shu sword. As such, it has became the standard reading for many of the new students. This, however, while being the most defining aspect, is not the most famous of this school. That honor belongs to the Shu Mountain sword's most treasured technique, the flying sword. The users of this technique has tapped into their consciousness and understood the very nature of the world, allowing them to gain control over their blade without even having to make physical contact with their weapon. Just by sheer manipulation of their chi, they can control their blade and use it to fight at a distance. As their technique becomes more and more refined, so does the strength and accuracy of their blade. By the Master Hu Qiao's own record, by the time they have attained the second level of enlightenment, they no longer need a weapon to even control, allowing them to manifest the weapon through their own chi. Many of the masters of the art have learned to use this chi and their blade to astonishing and jaw dropping effects. The Blade Celestial has on occasion STOOD on his own flying sword to achieve flight. Master Gung Shu, also known as the "Gladius Domini", pioneered a technique known as the "meteor shower", where he rained a thousand blades made of his own chi upon his foes. These are the more prominant examples of the Shu Mountain sword's might. And with such prominant symbols to their name, it is no wonder that this school has managed to endure for such a long time. Since I wanted to make this particular school represent the varying interpretative thoughts on martial arts, there will not be just one build / PrC for this class. Instead, each NPC build here represents an interpretation of their philosophy and could have vastly different builds The Blade Celestial Swordsage 2/psychic warrior 5//psychic weapon master X He USED to have a name, but over the course of time, people stopped calling him by his real name and simply referred to him by the moniker "The Blade Celestial". The Blade Celestial is the head of the orthodox Shu mountain swordsman school of thought. (The organization that Hu Qiao was at one point a member) During Hu Qiao's younger years (whilst he was still in his Blue Iron -> Xuan phase), the Blade Celestial and him were considered the primary contenders to one day take over the leadership of the Shu Mountain Sword. This competition was at first a friendly one until the two men both fell in love with a woman by the name of Ling Er, the daughter of one of the other instructors within the school. Driven both by love and ambition, the two became increasingly more and more competitive until love and ambition consumed them both. On a stormy night, the two fought on the rooftops of their school, wanting to decide once and for all who would get to lead the Shu Mountain Sword as well as win Ling Er's heart. As the entire school watched on from the scaffolding below, the earth trembled and the storm roared at the maelstrom of battle. The two were determined to fight to the death until Ling Er jumped in to stop the two. Unfortunately, this killed her as the two, now blinded by bloodlust, could not stop themselves in time before they struck a fatal blow into their own beloved. Distraught by what he had done, Hu Qiao left the school for good, and abandoned the Xuan sword as a result. The pair have not set eyes upon each other since. The Blade Celestial, however, bound by his sense of duty to his school, stayed behind was now the de facto heir to the leadership of the clan. When the old master retired, the Blade Celestial took over leadership of the school, and for the next 30 years built the school into something that resembled more of a martial clan than simply a school. Appearance: The Blade Celestial maintains a far more classic look about him, resembling Pai Mei in both appearance and feel. http://paimeiitguy.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/pai_mei.jpg personality: As result of being an authoritative figure for a large portion of his life Pai Mei, while of similar age to Hu Qiao, is visibly more stern and serious than his counterpart. His mannerisms are quite sullen and very serious, as to him he feels there is very little to be gained from fun and games. As such, he is always contemplative and always studious and he does not suffer fools gladly. He is also stingy with his praises, for to him, needless praises breeds egos and makes people forget to keep their feet on the ground and their out of the clouds. Often, the most praise a student will get for a job well done would be a single smile and a simple nod from the head. (Remember the scene where Pai Mei makes Uma Thurman eat with chopsticks despite having a busted hand? That look right there.) Fighting Style: The Blade Celestial is a master of manipulating chi and is capable of using his chi to create fantastical effects. He shows an amazing balance almost impossible to perform by human beings, (such as being able to balance himself on the tip of a blade) as well as some effects that seem like magic itself. the most famous one he's known for, and the one that earned him the name the Blade Celestial, is the flying blade. Using his chi to manipulate the very space around him, he can actually make his sword act as a projectile that he manipulates through the air with his own energy. At the height of his power, he can command about 4 flying blades and have them fly around his body, creating a blade barrier. He can also stand on a flying blade, and let the blade carry him for quite a bit of distance. the second technique he's known for is the meteor storm, a technique where he creates thousands of small energy blades created by his own chi, and rain them down upon his foe. some more contenders Huang Yao Shi: Swordsage 2 / Cleric X Huang Yao Shi is one of the main instructors on the Shu Mountains. Unlike a lot of the other Shu Mountain warriors, Huang Yao Shi is student of many different disciplines and styles. His focus, however, turned to be internal medicine. (Owing much of his training to his time spent as a disciple of the 9 Veins, an order that teaches the moulding and usage of chi rather than just it's refinement) From a mixture of his training as a doctor and as an internal martial artist, his knowledge of internal medicine and usage of chi therapy is unmatched. Not many are sure as to why Huang Yao Shi abandoned his old order to come under the banner of the Shu Mountain. spiritual weapon + various other cleric buffs will make this one work nicely Wimp Lo: Bard 1 Joke character. He'll be my Dan Hibiki. His technique? cast mage hand and use that to wield the blade with an awesome 0 str for a magnificant -5 to hit and damage. His basically my excuse to use this line: "Pay no attention to Wimp Lo, we purposely trained him wrong... as a joke" One of the things that occured to me was that, if the party lacks a dedicated healer (shaman or water shugenja since the cleric and druid classes probably won't be available to the players- I'm aware Devoted Spirit has stances and maneuvers that heal, but that's not going to be a huge help even if one of the players wants to be a crusader), healing is going to be difficult... So I'm thinking of houseruling it so a full night's rest heals a character completely, unless he was reduced to -1 or fewer HP (representing a serious injury, not just fatigue), in which case they'd heal at the normal rate as defined in the PHB for the next few days. Another option I've come up with are small enchanted springs that essentially produce the equivalant of healng potions and are pretty common and widespread, but the water loses it's magic when taken more than a few yards from the spring. A third is to make healing talismans (talismans basically have the same function as potions, if you don't have OA) very common and for sale pretty much everywhere. Anyone have any other ideas for this? well, one common Wuxia trope is the master medicine man who heals by channeling his energy into his patients through either acupuncture, salves or just good ol' fashion chi manipulation. What I would do, in this instance, is instead of trying to houserule stuff like that, just have an NPC with cleric levels provide the healing, but then refluff how his clerical powers work. Seeing as the PC party doesn't actually have anyone with that class, you can probably just make sure that the cleric NPC never actually use his cleric spells in a way that contradicts the chi fluff. and of course, said cleric would have things like craft potions so he can make healing salves called "golden wound" medicine. (application of which, would be applying the salves to the wound instead of just drinking the potion.) Baidas Kebante Wuxia tend fall under certain themes that may probably provide some insight on plot hooks and such. Here are a few that I've enjoyed in the past: 1. The world of the wuxia (Jiang Hu) is often at odds with the normal world. The rules that govern wuxia are different than the laws of the kingdom, and because the people are typically too powerful to control by normal means the government has to continue to think of ways how to deal with Jiang Hu. 2. There are typically three kinds of wuxia fighters, especially at high levels: those who are loyal to Jiang Hu, those who are loyal to the court and those who don't care about either side. The last group tends to consist of the most powerful wuxia and are the typical old hermits you see in movies. 3. Within the group that is loyal to Jiang there are two kinds of groups: those who are part of the "approved" martial arts dojos and those who are in the "cult-ish" martial arts dojos. Essentially, this divides those who practice the accepted styles of martial arts and those who practice in unorthodox styles. Think Light and Dark sides of the Force, but without the context of good or evil thrown in. Sure, Light siders may consider Dark siders evil, but in truth this is not always the case. 4. Speaking of unorthodox martial arts, there are two kinds of martial art styles - external and internal. Internal arts are where you find all the supernatural stuff and is more powerful. This is where you hear all about chi and stuff. Unorthodox arts usually fall under the internal arts and are unapproved because they are typically dangerous to learn. If you aren't careful your "inner demon" can take over and cause you to go crazy. Of course, since you're also powerful now it means you're extremely dangerous. Think Akuma from Street Fighter, but with some insanity. 5. Heroes in wuxia have lots of love interests. They also have tons of groupies who have a habit of either dying or trying to emulate their heroes and end up pulling a number 4. It's not uncommon for this side character to, in an effort to be closer to their love/idol, take a shortcut in martial arts, end up killing the established BBEG and become the Plot Twist BBEG in the last few minutes of the story. 6. Which leads to a common theme in which the dragon or BBEG is usually someone the heroes thought to be a friend, but may have to fight because of ideological differences or due to having conflicting loyalties. Depending on how Chaotic Stupid the BBEG is, that friend may either die in battle or side with the good guys in the end. Erm, I've already written a lot and don't want to run too much. Hope some of this helps. Of course, if you're interested, there's more where this came from. Learnedguy Ah, you mean lay on hands? umm... yeah, actually... just like that, in fact. though, to be quite honest, a lot of cool "chi" like effects can really be emulated fairly well with touch spells and such. bosssmiley @OP: Download Exalted (free on rpgnow with WW's generous offer code), Weapons of the Gods, Feng Shui and/or Hong Kong Action Theatre. Rip them off wholesale. :smallwink: ^ You missed Dragonfist Eggy. It's Wuxia-ahooliay. The Rose Dragon It is very difficult to find, though, since Pramas is supposed to be working on a new version and holds all the rights to the setting. I second Exalted. So, it's a pretty common schtick in Wuxia to have people be the reincarnations of ancient and legendary heroes and villains and whatnot. Would it be fun to run a campaign where, every few sessions or so, you got your players to quickly roll up a high level character, and then pop back in time a few thousand years to have an epic and quite probably fatal battle? Points for a setting with a long and varied history. Bonus points for involving time-travel. Super bonus points for setting up the PCs to fight their past selves without them realizing what you're doing.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line579
__label__cc	0.740893	0.259107	Green Windows: Art of Interchange Why "Green Windows?" The AWA Method Workshops/Services Creative Writing Workshops > Creative Dialogue Consulting Words from our writers Reflections by Catherine Mencher (written November 11,2019) In honor of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I returned to the notebooks, dusty under my nightstand, filled with the work I’d done with Peggy. In the spirit of honoring my writing, my self, and my sanity, I walked my 19 -month-old son, who had not napped for the day, a mile to the library. When his chirpy banter slowed, paces from our destination, I exhaled as I lowered his stroller seat, both of us reaching equilibrium. I wheeled us into the library and returned to pieces I’d scrawled in Uniquely Yours. Magic to return to this piece, written 8 years from the experience and now 2 years past that. Another type of magic, Green Windows’ workshops are and aren’t about the process. I know she tugged something from me with her prompt, the trust in the room and the timer. I don’t know the prompt, and it doesn’t matter. Written likely in 10 minutes, my piece sits complete. As I reread Athens, GA 2009, I inhabit the smaller clothes and forgotten shoes of the narrator. I poke open the door and wander about. It’s about the process and it’s not. I’m using a timer for this meta exercise in which I’m writing about what I wrote in Uniquely Yours, but I sit alone. As the timer slows, I’m not shifting to the new energy when we share and appreciate one another in Uniquely Yours. I’m grateful for this piece I wrote, a capsule, and for now knowing this process/not process. I know a hint of that community will see me, honor me by taking in this blog post. Athens, GA 2009 by Catherine Mencher (written March 9, 2017 in a Uniquely Yours monthly workshop) Head out the laundry room door, and there’s a trampoline from Craigslist. Notice the two trailers on the back right. One of them might hold a family. There’s a plastic trike on the dirt in front. There’s a rag over the window. The other one houses a glasses-wearing white man who comes by to collect Tom’s cigarette butts. Put them in a New York Times newspaper bag for him. On your left of the trampoline is a two-story house. A new dad. Talk to him about how the weather in Athens, GA has changed since he was a young kid. Remember to reject Southern stereotypes. Curve around the trampoline, notice my half-hearted DIY project: wine bottles buried in the dirt all cockananied and inconsistent. Be impressed by the strawberries Vanessa planted. Talk to the very old widow who lives in the teeny brick house next door as she hangs her thin house dresses out to dry. When she says her and her husband lived here when it was just a hill, remember. Remember the sprawling apartment complexes just a few doors down, remember the shady house with the guys who shared their coke and dressed you up just one road down, remember the public housing two stories tall just at the corner, and feel sad for her. Give her a hug. FLASH Writing Workshops at Salesforce Park So fun! Here's what we did: We actually all wrote to the same prompt. We had several rounds and each time had volunteers read their writing to everyone, with the mic. The we switched partners. So we got to know different writers, too! Here are some of the prompts: - calculated perforated holes - blue glow - riveted soaking trousers - overlooked misgivings As always, we were struck each time by how differently each writer responded to the same prompt! Many thanks to Salesforce Park and Intersection for the Arts! Stay tuned for more FLASH workshops! Freedom & Judgement by Alec West How can I combine my passion for the issues of education equity, prison abolition and youth solidarity in one poem written in one thirteen-minute sitting? If you had asked me before 7pm Sunday night I wouldn’t have been able to tell you, but as the sky changed hues we all straggled into a warehouse in North Oakland and sat down in semi-comfortable chairs for the Uniquely Yours workshop. We opened our notebooks and Peggy started feeding us prompts. A few new folks but most of us veterans of this workshop, coming almost every month and forming close-knit bonds around shared expression. I had something on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t taste it, couldn’t form it into the words that I wanted. My muse felt like an astronaut suspended in deep space with nothing to hold on to. Then Peggy read the poem “Purple” by Alex Rotella and gave us the prompt, “Write about a moment when you were discouraged, or encouraged, or when you discouraged or encouraged somebody.” In this workshop it is assumed that everything we’re writing is fiction, even if it’s not. This gives us the freedom to write the truth while maintaining anonymity in our own experience. In other writing workshops I will write a piece and people will ask me about it as if the narrator is really me, Alec West, in real life, and the story I wrote was something that happened to me. Outside of Green Windows, I have to stop people and say, “This story is not about me.” I don’t want what I say in a story or a poem to affect the relationships I have with my friends, my family, my readers, or the community at large. Outside of Green Windows, this happens whether I like it or not, but within the safe space that we all create together, I can write whatever I want, plumbing the pits of my soul for something I would never admit to my closest friend. When I share those secrets with the people around me through my writing, they nod and listen and tell me what they liked about it, then we move on. It never has to enter the relationships I form with those people outside of the workshop and it never leaves the room. With the safety afforded by Green Windows I can write freely and do the kind of self-exploratory work I need to do among others in my community who are doing the same thing. I wrote this piece that night, based on that prompt. I thought about how discouraging it is for a teacher to have one of your students, someone much younger than you, die. I’m not revealing whether I’ve had that experience or not, but you can judge whether my writing resonates with you, and you can feel it if it is authentic. To Be Judged by Alec West At twenty-four I was young to be a teacher whose student had died. Ricardo had what you would call a magnetic personality. He was tall and solid with long hair that descended to his shoulders like the coned branches of a pine tree. He wore the jail uniform like any piece of clothing you would wear. He seemed to have an air of acceptance of where he was and hope for where he was going. Both of these combined with patience, faith that he would get there, that took confidence. I only remember him really writing one piece in all of the writing workshops we had. He attended a lot of them, as he was in jail for six months after I got there and I don’t know how long he was in before. Press play. Three months after he got out, a car crash. Ricardo was a passenger and he was dead. I’m not sure if he was 18 yet or not. I wrote in his obituary: “Almost as sad as his young death was how long he had to spend in jail.” Overall, Ricardo spent two and a half years in jail after he skipped out on probation to get a job so that he could support his family. A vast number of the people you will meet in jail are not there for their original crime, but for a violation such as staying out too late, or not checking in with their PO, things that are not illegal but could wind them back up in the system. Often these people are leading positive, productive lives and trying their best, but one misstep led them off track. How many people are lost to parole violations, not even real crimes? How many are trapped behind walls when they could be connecting or creating with us? What if you were judged and your whole life was determined by what you did or what happened on your worst day? There is a scene in the movie, “The Mustang” when a therapist asks a group of prisoners incarcerated for violent crimes, “How long from the idea of the crime to the committing of the crime?” 30 seconds. Fifteen seconds. Ten seconds. Less than half a second. The men answer with certainty as though a game show is asking them what they had for breakfast. Can you judge the entire character of a person for an action committed without making a decision? Do you feel safe? I’m young in my teaching and I’ve only had one student die. I’ve known teachers who have lived through the deaths of several of their students. The loss we feel is mixed with blinding injustice as the world becomes a little less colorful, a little less vibrant, and we all become a little less powerful, despite the efforts we as teachers put out every day to keep the fire burning in our students’ hearts. Our students get snuffed out. We put our dreams into these children, and these children give hope back to us. Then, the system takes these children, takes them away from the rest of us. I am a teacher and I am in my twenties and I’ve had a student die. You can judge whether I am too young or whether this is too much, but this is the world we live in. I’m not ready to make a judgment about the world, and Ricardo will always remain perfect in my memory. Do you feel safe? Alec West is a teacher, activist, and author of What Happened When I Stopped Watching TV, his first book, available on Amazon. He lives in Oakland, but is moving to Richmond, and was born and raised in the East Bay. You can find him on Facebook: on instagram @alecwestwriter510, or writing in a local cafe. You Like Me Best by Catherine Mencher Green Windows has recast how I see myself. Yes, I am a writer. Yes, I have a community to draw from. Yes, my words have a place. - Catherine You like me best when it's cold out. Something sexy about more clothes over less. That gray shirt with your coiled strength below it: that thin barrier smooth against my pushing shoulder blades. You like me best, but you love him most. "He's my best friend, mama." He likes me best when he's giggly. It turns out that the most base human state is polarity. Within ten minutes, gleeful hee hees and ha has, wailful mourns and utter ambivalence. New Apprentice: Lena Nicodemus Lena (between Jordan and Alec) at the monthly GW workshop Oct 2018 I’ve been writing with Green Windows for about 4 years now. I met two of the regular attendees at a coloring club meetup. I was feeling brave enough that day to venture out of my normal routine to do something like that, and holy hell am I glad I did. My first night there I heard writing like I’ve never heard before. Not like the crap they made me read in school, not the forced-to-sound-like-this writing from my creative writing class in college, not what I always thought poetry “should” sound like. I heard real, raw, authentic voices from real, raw, authentic people. We were writing at Chapter 510 then, and being in a space that could hold the creative energy for youth helped me work through some shit. It also inspired me to start a group at the elementary school where I worked using the same method that we use at Green Windows after reading Pat Schneider's book about the AWA method. Listen to some writing by an inspired 10-year-old sometime. It changed my world. This group of people has become more than just a creative outlet for me. It’s where I sort out all the things inside and around me and find a way to feel all the feelings and have other people witness me doing it. It’s become a group of fellow soul travelers, friends, mentors, and family. I honestly cannot imagine my life without it. When Peggy offered to take me on as her apprentice, I was beyond honored. I told her that no matter how busy my life can get, I’m learning how to make time for the things, the spaces, and the people that feed my life. What would be my life be without them anyway? Green Windows and the community of people that are part of it fit all those categories. As a therapist and someone who’s participated in and facilitated healing spaces for years, I can confidently say there’s something really special going on at Rock Paper Scissors every 4th Sunday of the month. Writing a blog post means I’m sharing my work, too. I thought about adding a fun poem, one that invokes a laugh or at least a chuckle. Maybe one of my short pieces about my mom’s tomatoes or my brothers’ paper towel karate belts or how my dog looks at me when she pees or the time I met a human bunny rabbit on the Lost Coast. But the bravery of folks to speak truth inspires me everyday to speak mine more, and lately I’ve been encountering too much of that bravery to keep crawling back into my cave where it all feels easy and protected. I shied away from true tales of horror inflicted on women and children for many years, because it reminded me too much of mine. Maybe that’s where you, reader, need to be right now, and so I’ll give the disclaimer that this is not a fun piece. It’s a part of a journey, the part where it’s all super thick forest with no map, no machete, no rope. Hopefully, hearing a piece of my story will give you strength to write yours. (more about Lena) men teach me to like rape by Lena Nicodemus fingers pressing ferns & nitrous ice fog on the cold sand a fallen tree trunk lifting up on hips & lifting up of t-shirt a stupid fucking visor hat and when you look at me you look nervous but I don’t say no your hands are cold up my shirt & you push your tongue too much into mine you stick your hand down my pants root around for whatever loose change you’re looking for and I remember we’re at where people who go off trails can find us, not far from the shit food of the national parks lodge and I still don’t say no later I say no and I laugh but I’m not sure I’m joking and you hardly stop to check I’ve been taught for my whole life to say I don’t imagine myself saying no or why I would the stories I hear from the couch are men getting robbed at gunpoint and women getting raped and then there are the stories where it’s little boys and girls and the guns are your cousins and I guess both guns could be your cousins and I used to be scared of the word and have to spell it out when asking friends if movies had r-a-p-e scenes before I could watch them and I don’t watch anything other than the office it feels like anymore because getting surprised by a rape scene in a movie I thought was rated PG-13 and really 13-year-olds can watch this? it’ll knock me out and before long i’m scared to go out or even ride my bike anymore because all the hey baby’s and looks feel like rape because when i feel triggered it’s like I’m being raped but since I was young, men teach me to call nonconsensual sex “kinks” and “it got a little rough” and stopping to ask me once for a safe word neither of us use isn’t consent and anyway girls can’t consent to sex only women can and you didn’t invite a woman back to this apartment, did you? Different Kitchens, Different Friends by Alec West Alec at Green Windows' monthly workshop 3/2017. I heard about Green Windows on an aimless walk through downtown Oakland at dusk one Spring. I remember the sky was pink and I was climbing my way up from rock bottom and pure Hell. I think I was only a few months sober. Back then, Green Windows was hosted at the original Rock Paper Scissors Collective art workshop on Telegraph Ave. I opened my mouth for what seemed like the first time since I was a kid and spoke about what was really important to me. We sat on unassuming chairs in a paint-splattered room and people listened to me. I never did AA or any kind of structured help program. Green Windows was it for me. Every month I would join a friendly assortment of colorful people, I would write, I would share and I would listen. In this way, I built myself up from broken, devastated pieces into a positive member of a tangible community for the first time in my life. In Green Windows, you always have the option to pass on sharing a piece of writing. I have never done this. I have written pieces of writing that scared me into shaking, pale-skinned jello in these workshops. Sharing them in a safe, confidential space with warm, loving people who all share their stories in turn has brought me healing that feels divine. Again, you don’t have to share if you don’t want to, and plenty of people choose not to, but I have made serious progress emotionally and spiritually just by saying what I need to say, even if I’m terrified. After a while of coming to these workshops, you start to see the same people. You admire their writing and then get to admire them as people. None of us are big-shot prestigious writers (at least not yet). Almost everyone is available to talk or share a ride home or a slice of pizza after the workshop. The community of people I’ve met coming to Green Windows over the years is what keeps me rooted in the Bay Area. It brings me pride in my home and I feel like I’m releasing stagnant energy and rejuvenating by writing, reading and listening. As long as I live in the Bay Area, I’m going to keep coming to Green Windows workshops. This community has played no small part in making me the person I am today. Peggy, her helpers, and all of us do a lot of work to keep the space open to truly anyone who wants to come through these doors and write. The participants in these workshops feel like a cross-section of Oakland and the greater Bay Area and I haven’t seen this diversity in one space anywhere else. Green Windows writers have the privilege of coming to awareness of what life is like for people different from us. This work is important for keeping myself humble and keeping myself engaged in the struggle for justice and in building community. Here, I have the space to dig into myself and find veins of painful, traumatized gold to bring into the light and inspire others. I am grateful to live in a time and place where this is possible. Below is a piece of fiction I wrote in a Green Windows workshop. I hope you enjoy it. Different Kitchens, Different Friends The refrigerator makes a sound that most people don’t hear. My friend Charles grew up on a boat and said that when he had to live in a house he hated the refrigerator. It was so loud, it kept him up at night. He wasn’t used to it. My friend J used to come over and raid my fridge. He showed me how to cook tortillas on the stovetop. Years later, he admitted that he’d had a gun on him in our house. Old friends were trying to kill him, and he had to protect himself. My friend Basil also used my kitchen. He is dead now. I remember him standing in my kitchen, having a conversation with my Mom about yogurt-coated granola bars. “These are actually sweeping the nation as one of the best new things!” he said. His wide eyes were shifty and unfocused, his blond, box-springed hair was like a brillo pad under a wool cap or a hoodie. We went on that afternoon to get drunk in an alleyway with fresh green grass growing. It was springtime, and we were enjoying being young and the bold, deep flavor of loneliness when you have someone to share it with. Then Basil bought a bottle of vodka from a homeless man with my money, and we blacked out in the bathroom of a drug store. This kitchen, on Lake in Piedmont, by Beach Elementary, was the first place I discovered alcohol. I remember coming home in a nice button-down shirt from the freshman dance and finding the liquor cabinet open. Vodka and Gin. I filled up two plastic water bottles full, one red and one blue. My friend Red covered the stairs at the Morcom Rose garden with orange, green, white, and yellow puddles from the paints in his stomach. They were inkblots spilled over a page. Somebody was holding their pen up too long thinking about what to write and splotches ran through. Back then there was less loneliness than hope and excitement. I felt like I could still be part of something here if I tried. Red was my first drinking buddy. Years later, I find myself in my brother Gabre’s kitchen in Eugene, Oregon. He has liquor bottles displayed above the cabinets where he keeps plates and dishes. He was a teetotaller all through high school, and now that he is in college, he is drinking. He felt that he had earned the privilege with his success. My friends and I taught him all about top shelf bourbon and scotch. Now he is a connoisseur and a snob, and at six pm on a weeknight he is shaking the cocktail mixer, fixing a drink. My friend Hombre’s Dad’s kitchen looks out over the whole of San Francisco. You can see the city shimmering with light and heat and fog and silver and gold during the day and shining with purple and orange at night. It was the perfect place to enjoy a blunt with some close friends. My friend Hombre had sixteen pot plants growing on that back deck in high school. At first, his Dad didn’t notice, then he didn’t care. Tall, fragrant bushes, sticky flowers and phosphorescent leaves. Orange hairs, white hairs, purple hairs. Acid and mushrooms and looking at the clouds. Hardcore music. Drum and bass music. Dubstep. A State of Trance. We found a vast, dark basement full of all flavors of people who did drugs in San Francisco, from hardened criminals to kids like us. Hombre wanted to wear sweat pants and a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt. We told him to go for it, but he didn’t do it. We were too young for ecstasy, we felt, so we took trucker speed, those pills you buy over the counter at the gas station for like five bucks. That and a lot of marijuana, and we didn’t sit down for six hours. All this is what I remember of my childhood in the East Bay. What were we gonna do? We were making the best out of a teenage situation in suburban California. No, you’re too young to get into the club, but there’s this alleyway and this bag and this homeless guy who agrees to buy you alcohol. I’m not joking when I say that homeless guy became my best friend. His name was J, he was only a few years older than me, and he taught me a lot. Alec West is a Bay Area native and has been writing and publishing since he was twelve, when a fierce middle-school teacher taught him that he was worth something. He has been published in Slingshot Magazine, The Anthology of Poetry By Young Americans, The Moon, and The Highlander. His first book, “What Happened When I Stopped Watching TV” will be available in print and e-book in December 2018. Follow Alec on Instagram. What My Pen Will Do By Nancy Schimmel Nancy (middle) at Green Windows' monthly workshop, May 2018 A friend told me about Green Windows. I had been in writing classes before but not done writing to prompts. I loved it. I like not knowing what will happen--either what kind of prompts we will get or what my pen will do when it gets one. Mostly it pours out some familiar story from my life but sometimes, and I am grateful for those times, the prompt sets me off on something I would never have thought to write. Even when I write a story I’ve told before, there may be a new insight or I will like the way a group of words sit together. I’ve been in other prompt-writing groups since, but Green Windows stands out for the variety of writers and writing in it: people of many races and classes and several genders, immigrants and native-born, drop-outs and people with post-graduate degrees. It’s in Oakland, it’s sliding scale, and Peggy so completely welcomes everybody to bring their whole selves in. I’ve met such good people at Green Windows, and heard such amazing writing, poignant, playful, profound. I met Renee Garcia at Green Windows, and joined her on-line prompt-writing group. Late one night, one October thirty-first, Renee challenged us to start writing a novel at the stroke of midnight, the moment when National Novel Writing Month would start. I wrote for twenty or thirty minutes about why I couldn’t write a novel. The next morning I started writing a novel--a fantasy for older children--which I am still rewriting over three years later. I love working on it. Peggy encourages us to write either as ourselves or as a character, and I sometimes respond to prompts as some character in the novel. This has either given me material I can use in the novel or insights into my characters that will inform my further writing about them. One prompt was to write about a familiar or habitual walk. So I had a character, Margaret, talk about hers, and it’s in the manuscript now, and here, below: Excerpt of novel-in-progress by Nancy Schimmel: On the evening before landfall in England, Annika said, “I’ve never been in a castle, much less lived in one.” “The trick is not to stay in the castle much if you can help it,” said Margaret. “You leave the castle early in the morning before somebody thinks up something for you to do. First you go down—down the path to the beach and along the beach to the trail, then up the face of the heugh, back and forth like lacing on a bodice, to the grassy top where the sheep are. Or where they are supposed to be if they haven’t done something stupid like one wander over the edge and another one go to see what happened to the first one and go over the edge but not on purpose and therefore badly, and you may have to stop and do something about it. “If all is well with the sheep, you go through the meadow. By and by you will come to a hut with smoke coming out of the chimney. However early you have left, Tom will be up and dressed and making tea before you get there. Bring him some honey, he likes that. Sit with him and sip the hot strong sweet tea and listen. Tom will tell you a story about himself and the sheep or his brother and the sea or his grandfather and the Norse raiders. He tells true stories, or truly as he heard them, but he doesn’t dither about exactly what happened or who was there or what day of the week it was, he keeps the story going.” “I know what you mean,” said Annika. “We had one of those ditherers in the village.” “Janet’s father is like that,” Margaret replied. “Maybe that’s why Janet likes ballads. No room to argue with yourself about what happened. Anyway, then you tell Tom your story, like you told it to me. I tell him stories I read in a book or heard from the cook or from some traveler.” “But now you are the traveler,” said Annika. “That is so,” said Margaret. “I’m a princess, but I’m a traveler, too. I used to hear travelers say things that either made me want to jump on the next ship leaving or be glad I stayed home where there’s hot tea and honey every morning.” “Are you sorry you are a traveler?” asked Annika. “Not at all. But I will be glad to get home again.” Back at Rock Paper Scissors Collective Green Windows monthly workshop at RPSC May 2018 Green Windows started partly at the Rock Paper Scissors Collective (RPSC), a grass-roots community arts organization. RPSC, with other galleries and arts organizations, turned "Uptown" Oakland into a vital, thriving, arts destination. And then they were priced out of the neighborhood they helped revitalize while remaining deeply rooted in the existing community. Green Windows held monthly workshops in RPSC for seven years, When RPSC lost their space, our monthly workshops tried several different spaces, none of which felt like home. Green Windows and RPSC have overlapping missions supporting the creativity of Oaklanders while remaining affordable, accessible and deeply focused on the importance of creativity for those who are the least heard. RPSC continued to do arts workshops in schools, libraries and various community spaces. And now they have found a new home at Warehouse 416. Which means Green Windows has found a new home, too. We had our first monthly workshop there on May 27th and it did, indeed, feel like coming home. We are so grateful for the ongoing partnership with RPSC. Come write with us next month! Creative Writing As Dramatic Coding By Rachel Golden I’ve been telling stories since I was three years old. The best years of my childhood were spent guiding my friends on narrated adventures in my backyard (which I would later learn is called “live-action role-playing”). Unfortunately, not all of the stories I told were, in truth, my stories, spun out of my own head, nor written by my own hand… The truth is I didn’t master handwriting until I was 12 (and before the widespread use of personal computers, this was a serious set-back), and a good majority of the stories I told were based on movies and TV shows I had watched, memorized, and faithfully replicated in my own little voice. In retrospect, I suppose I had to start with the oral tradition before I could move into transcription. There was a good several years of my life where I was able to recite the entire poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, by heart and without prompting, not because I fancied myself a poet, but because my grandfather used to read it to me every night that I stayed over at his house, and it became stuck in my head. It took me a long time to figure out how to tell my own stories, or at least to perfect my own voice when I told them, but if I hadn’t practiced with the masters, I wouldn’t have learned that every idea comes from something before it, that “new” stories are essentially built upon pre-existing narrative structures, and that it is physically and metaphysically impossible for creative impulses to exist in a vacuum. My father worked for IBM for 30 years, so we were among the first in our neighborhood to own personal computers in 1994, which served me well in my transcription practice. One of the first writing programs I used to transcribe my stories was appropriately called “Creative Writer,” which you could tell was purposefully designed for small children because it was full of colorful cartoon characters that cracked lame jokes and stale puns, as well as weird-shaped buttons that made squishy fart-noises when you clicked on them. Other than that shameless bit of pandering in the software’s design, “Creative Writer” basically functioned like Microsoft Word, with many spacing and font options for each project, plus much fancier-looking clip-art to use as needed. Thankfully, I took to typing much faster than I took to handwriting. My middle-school teachers were disappointed that I continued “hunting and pecking” for the keys I needed, despite their pathetic attempts to cover my hands with a thin (but not thin enough) box over the keyboard. I’m pretty sure they only wanted me to master QWERTY-style so that I could become somebody’s secretary, and if I’d been allowed to curse, I would have gladly advised them to “fuck that noise,” but the truth is that I wasn’t allowed to curse until I got to high school and then all bets were off. Instead of embracing social milestones for most teenage girls—like learning about makeup, armchair-studying fashion in magazines, and/or getting a boyfriend—I spent the vast majority of my high school and college years absorbed in story-driven computer games, like “StarCraft,” and writing fanfiction for multiple other writers’ stories. The important thing, again, was getting as much practice as possible; I wrote before classes, I wrote at lunch, I wrote at the library, I wrote after dinner, and I wrote well into the small hours of the night, and yet still managed to get up in time for school. Jordan was one of my best friends since I was three, and she introduced me to Green Windows in 2015. These workshops have allowed me to challenge my time-use, to focus on staying positive, and to hone my narrative voice, as well as to listen for that which resonates with me, even if I don’t immediately understand why… It feels to me as if we are essentially building on pre-existing structures and adding our own flourishes in order to express the ideas we generate, with the goal of learning how to share them with others. While most of my computing experience is centered on word-processor use, I figure if the process of writing is at all like I hear coding can be, then Green Windows must be one hell of a hack-a-thon. Below is a piece from a previous workshop. Enjoy! EXCERPT FROM “THE HEARTSCAPE FACTS” THREADS ON WWW.MAPPING-THE-HEARTSCAPE.COM, DATED 02/02/1998 By Rachel Golden Frank Riordan, the guitarist for Heartscape, is not just musically competent – he’s also an astrophysics prodigy. When he was 16, he was placed in an advanced mathematics course where he composed a 10-page essay on the practicality of faster-than-light travel as featured in the classic film, Barbarella. Within a year, this work earned him the attention of the Canadian Space Agency, which offered to pay for his university tuition if he helped them develop a perpetual motion machine. He even took time to help a fellow musician—Philip Taylor Kramer, the bassist from the band Iron Butterfly—on a Top Secret time-travel experiment in the U.S., but good luck getting him to break his non-disclosure agreement with the CSA and NASA. HighPriest: OMG MIND BLOWN! BigNo: LOL! Howitzer: LOL! Diogenes: Holy shit. I don’t even. LunarRover: Sounds plausible. I mean, the guy is a genius, after all. Diogenes: Where to start? I mean, it’s total bullshit, but I have to say it’s the most entertaining bullshit I’ve read this week. Kudos to whoever posted this – you’re a funny bastard. Howitzer: Dude, it’s not bullshit—don’t ever say Frank Riordan isn’t a goddamn genius, because he totally is. Anything else is fightin’ words! LunarRover: Whoa, down boy! Diogenes: Are you seriously polishing his balls right now, Howie? Howitzer: They never found Kramer’s body! He fucking disappeared off the face of the earth! How the hell do you know Riordan didn’t help him with a time-travel experiment? Diogenes: The same way I know that Riordan didn’t write a goddamn paper on FTL travel in Barbarella. The premise of undertaking such an endeavor is absolutely impractical, completely insane, and totally stupid! LunarRover: Jane Fonda is a total fox, BTW. Diogenes: Don’t get me wrong, I love the shit out of that movie and yes, Jane Fonda is a total fox, but good goddamn, it’s called SCIENCE FICTION for a reason! RocketSauce: But at least the post is funny, right? You did say it was funny, and that whoever posted it was a “funny bastard,” right? Yes? Diogenes: Thanks, Rocket. You actually made me smile today. Congratulations are in order, for that is no easy feat. RocketSauce: Fuckin’ sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! BigNo: Wow, and here I thought Diogenes might actually secretly be Frank Riordan, posing as an average poster and getting his jollies by trolling the crap out of everyone. LunarRover: No, no, that’s me. RocketSauce: HOLY SHIT LUNAR ARE YOU FRANK RIORDAN?!!!!!??!! LunarRover: No, I’m the average poster that’s getting his jollies by trolling the crap out of everyone. I like to think it’s basically my job. Howitzer: OMG, if Frank Riordan actually posts on this site, I’m going to freak the fuck out and literally shit myself. RocketSauce: You and me both, man! BigNo: Gotta say, Howie, you are a class act. HighPriest: I think you mean, “clact ass.” BigNo: No, I don’t, King Pothead. Get your eyes checked. LunarRover: …the hell does that even mean? BigNo: It means HighPriest has been hitting the bong too hard and needs to drink some coffee. HighPriest: Fuck you too, Biggie. InfinityPrincipal: All right, all right, enough of this. This all has gotten simply too silly. Thread is locked. Now for a complete change of mood… When the Movies In Your Head Meet Pen and Paper by Philip Staley I've always loved stories. I've always loved secrets. I literally sat at the feet of my elders while they cajoled, caroused and shared their stories as only they could. Bedtimes were tortuous, because I would strain to listen to the adults while they exchanged their lore in hushed tones at night. I am fortunate to have a large, diverse, family with expressive, larger-than-life personalities. My father doubled down on his stories, my grandfather spoke piecemeal and cryptically, my mother weaves together tales of tenacity and enduring humor so effortlessly. I have a lot of cultural capital from which to draw my experiences, and for that I am truly blessed. In my adolescence, I became enchanted with Dungeons and Dragons, along with art house cinema. I learned about the importance of compelling characters being presented in unconventional ways. Often as the Storyteller for our sessions, I had to captivate my audience quickly and unite the players with a common bond that was worth their time and imagination. I can't say that I was always successful, however my strongest friendships are with those that humored me and indulged my fantasy creations. My writing became more refined throughout college, where I learned about structure and identifying theses. A wise professor advised me to “make your subjects personal.” Since I've received that guidance, I've been able to write passionately about most everything. To this day, I feel as if I write with an edge, or chip on my shoulder. I feel fortunate to have been introduced to Green Windows by my wife. I didn't know what to expect or if I really wanted to expose my writing, but I took a chance anyways. I found the environment encouraging, welcoming, and I was blown away by the authenticity and vulnerability of the participants. While struggling to find my writing voice, I was encouraged by the growth of others and the creative ways they approached the writing prompts. Through Green Windows, I've been able to find my unique voice and express myself with conviction. The writing prompts and welcoming atmosphere have inspired me to dig deep and get raw with my writing, drawing upon my unique experiences and perspectives. This process has made me realize that everyone is a vital repository of great stories and truths. I am humbled by the journey and am excited to see where it takes me each month. Professionally, I've been a psychiatric nurse for about 3 years. I'm tasked with listening to my clientele and discerning truth from delusion or projection, for the purposes of positive health outcomes. I am fortunate to have the trust of my patients who have shared in varying degrees, heartbreaking, nihilistic, zany, grandiose, dangerous, and relatable stories. My role constantly reminds me of the power of trust, secrets, and having a secure place to tell your story. For a person like me, this feels perfect. At any rate, I will share another piece of myself in the form of a Green Windows writing project. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy it. TABLE SCRAPS by Philip Staley “I'm a kung fu preacher from Wichita, don't fuck with me!” Silas McClellan teetered unsteadily as he always did, propped up at the figurative intersection of angst and bad choices. Kay noted that he had a much larger crowd today. Normally, she would dismiss his ramblings for scrimshaw, slipshod, nonsense, but these were different and hungrier times. Old Silas had a penchant for pouring cheap alcohol in his myriad wounds and drinking the rest; and we're not talking about the kind they sell at liquor stores. His crazed eyes were red-rimmed and golden, a harsh indicator of his pock-marked liver. The combination of these things lent him a demonic, blood-orange visage. Kay Kellen had to consider the changes in this part of town, long in shadows and hope. People were disappearing in such disturbing fashion, that even the city's undesirables complained. She had “the sight” or the “undervision”, as it was known in occult circles; to see and interact with the fearsome denizens of worlds best left unexplored. Additionally, this sight was instrumental in piercing the veil of superstition in the cityscape and the isopropyl alcohol fueled ramblings of amateur and tormented, doomsday preachers. The gang members, ne'er do wells, and other ruffians who composed the Murderers' Row of Junktown approached too. They paid rapt attention to the nuggets of superstitious truth that now affected their collective interests. Often ignored, Silas McClellan rumbled along in that deep speech, the hate and vitriol of his words punctuated by that horrible, phlegm-racked cough. Occasionally, he spit out blood and blamed the Devil; his captive audience hanging on his threadbare words. Kay shifted uncomfortably, noticing the small apparitions now creeping amongst the assembled like pickpockets in a town square. Naught creatures who were here to lap up the conveniently assembled packets of fear. The psychic investigator liked the idea of these times, for once feeling useful. However, bathing in this apparent destitution made all previous instances shudder from the abrupt juxtaposition. Aged in spirit well beyond her 29 years, Kay Kellen rolled up her sleeves and approached the doomsday prophet, eyes blazing with that otherworldly fire and the resolve of the forgotten. Please submit a post about your experience in a Green Windows workshop or about social justice and artistic expression. ACJJC AWA Method Creative Dialogues Juvenile Hall Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Uniquely Yours Youth Writing Green Windows: Art of Interchange is a Member of Intersection for the Arts. Intersection for the Arts is a historic arts nonprofit that provides people working in arts and culture with fiscal sponsorship and resources to grow. Website by Jessica Liu from Hack the Hood 2017 Bootcamp	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line584
__label__cc	0.662184	0.337816	EVENTSHISTORY History by Year Birthday Astrology What Happened In History Year 1857 Home » History by Year » 1857 Historical Events for the Year 1857 9th January » The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake known as Fort Tejon earthquake strikes California, registering an estimated magnitude of 7.9. 24th January » The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully-fledged university in South Asia. 3rd March » Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China. 6th March » The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the 'Dred Scott v. Sandford' case. 21st March » An earthquake in Tokyo, Japan kills over 100,000. 18th April » "The Spirits Book" by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France. 6th May » The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Regiment or Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Independence of 1857 or War of 10th May » Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut. 11th May » Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British. 26th May » Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners. 6th June » Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden known as Oscar II of Sweden–Norway. 26th June » The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London known as Hyde Park, London. 24th August » The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in United States history.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line587
__label__wiki	0.653449	0.653449	Celebrating Annora Brown About Fort Macleod About the Gazette Police College Story Archive Long-time friends collaborate on books Frank McTighe, MACLEOD GAZETTE EDITOR \| Posted on January 02 2019 Dolly Yellow Wings (left) and Lucille Provost of the Piikani Nation collaborated on two books. Two longtime friends have teamed up to publish a pair of children’s books. Writer Lucille Provost and artist Dolly Yellow Wings drew on Blackfoot lore to create How the Earth Was Created and If I Could Dream for Piikani Today. Publishing the books is the realization of dreams long held by the two Piikani Nation women, who grew up together and have remained friends. “For years now I’ve wanted to write books and for years she wanted to illustrate,” Provost said. It was through her job with Pincher Creek Adult Learning Services that the creation of the two books got started. Provost was looking for ways to reach out to her community. Many Piikani families are still suffering the residual effects of residential schools, which stripped them of parenting skills and their identity. Provost decided to write the Blackfoot Piikani creation story in a form that children in Grade 1-7 could enjoy and understand, as a way to connect them with their identity. “Writing this book would give a foundation to our people,” said Provost, who enlisted Yellow Wings to do the illustrations. “She’s a great artist,” Provost said. The two women would get together on weekends and evenings by the Oldman River or outside Provost’s house to talk about the book and share ideas. Provost spent months planning the book, followed by about six months of collaboration with Yellow Wings. “This is the creation story that goes back many generations,” Lucille said of How the Earth Was Created. “Everybody has their creation story. This is Blackfoot Piikani’s creation story.” “I wrote the creation story to be age-appropriate so we could share it with the young children and the young moms, so they can get a sense of our identity.” Provost sat with adult members of the Piikani Nation and had focus groups to get their ideas for If I Could Dream for Piikani Today. The ideas shared by Piikani people were far ranging, such as, “If I could dream for me today, I would want to be treated equally,” and, “If I could dream for me today I would want the children to learn native dancing and teach them dancing,” and, “If I could dream for me today I would want Peigans to be on good terms with fellow Peigans.” Each person’s dream is written in English and translated into Blackfoot in the book. Advanced Education paid for the writer and artist’s work, as well as printing. Holding the first book in their hands was the realization of a dream for both women. “We just kind of sat, and we kept reading it and looking at it,” Provost said. “We finally snapped out of it and said, ‘Let’s get it out’.” The two women showed the books to family and friends, and are now making presentations to young audiences at schools in the area. During those presentations, the two women encourage children to do as they did: dare to dream and to make those dreams come true. A third book is in the works. Tags \| First Nations, Piikani Nation Other Stories in this Category Hand drums help make family centre welcoming An object that is sacred to the Blackfoot people has a place of prominence at... Piikani Nation approved for grizzly study funding Environment and Climate Change Canada has approved the Piikani Nation for $30,390 under the Aboriginal... Province to work with indigenous communities to ensure return of sacred ceremonial objects The Alberta government has begun conversations about Bill 22 with indigenous communities across the province... Quinton Crow Shoe earns Alto Ambassador Award Travel Alberta has recognized Quinton Crow Shoe for his work promoting tourism in the province.... Piikani Nation School hosts Trickster Theatre GAZETTE CONTRIBUTOR – CONNIE LASSITER Oh what a show! Trickster Theatre Company led a one-week... Photo Albums – what’s new Fort Macleod Skating Club held its annual achievement night on Dec. 18 Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance Fort Macleod Ag Society Fort Museum Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Heritage Acres Farm Museum Livingstone Range School Division MD of Willow Creek Ranchland Hockey League The Empress Theatre Town of Fort Macleod Town of Granum Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Willow Creek Community Adult Learning Center Will you vote for the western separatist Wexit Party in the next federal election? You bet! So long, Canada Won’t waste my vote Copyright © Fort Macleod Gazette.Original News Theme by .	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line591
__label__wiki	0.909079	0.909079	Each day brings more advanced technology… reMarkable Tablet: A Substitute Or Replacement For Paper? Xplornet acquires RipNET in Eastern Ontario By Staff in Other July 5, 2011 New Brunswick’s Xplornet Communications Inc. today announced the immediate acquisition of RipNET Limited. Located in the Brockville region, RipNET is an Internet service provider that operates in the eastern Ontario region that extends from Manotick to Gananoque, and as far north as Perth. In addition to its dial-up and DSL users, RipNET also operates a fixed wireless broadband networks using 3.5GHz licensed spectrum to deliver internet service to areas where other types of broadband services are not available. Xplornet CEO John Maduri says the acquisition will increase his company’s fixed wireless broadband footprint in Eastern Ontario and is complementary to the work Xplornet is doing to roll out 4G wireless and satellite broadband in region over the next year. RipNET was founded in 1994 as an arm of The Brockville Recorder and Times, a daily newspaper serving Brockville. In April 2002, the firm was purchased by Kingsley and Hunter Grant who have operated the company until the acquisition. [via digitalhome] U.S. Wants to Wiretap the Internet Nintendo 3DS Price Dropping to $169.99 For Travelers, Never a Shortage of Handy Gadgets Internet freedom is under threat worldwide Review: 5 E-Book Readers for Less Than $175 Google Ready To Launch A New Travel Search Site (GOOG) Google, Microsoft sued over map technology Google’s Chrome Has Updated Security Features. The Trade Off Is Less Customer Privacy New Nissan LEAF With ProPILOT Technology Introduced To European Market Bose And Google Introduce Headphones With Talking Feature And Google Assistant Google’s upcoming phone is more exciting than the Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone, here’s why:	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line605
__label__wiki	0.81648	0.81648	Randall Tanaka appointed as Assistant Superintendent for Office of Facilities and Operations http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Randall-Tanaka-appointed-as-Assistant-Superintendent-for-OFO.aspx Randall Tanaka appointed as Assistant Superintendent for Office of Facilities and Operations Randall Tanaka has been named assistant superintendent for the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education’s Office of Facilities and Operations. He will oversee construction and maintenance of school facilities and operations of food services, transportation and security. Parents encouraged to provide feedback on their child’s public school http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/SQS-2020-Parent-Partcipation.aspx Parents encouraged to provide feedback on their child’s public school The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) released its annual School Quality Survey (SQS) to gather feedback from students, parents/guardians and staff about its public schools. Board approves HIDOE proposal to incentivize critical teacher shortage areas http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Board-approves-HIDOE-proposal-to-incentivize-critical-teacher-shortage-areas.aspx Board approves HIDOE proposal to incentivize critical teacher shortage areas The Hawaii State Board of Education (BOE) today approved the Department’s proposal to provide extra compensation for classroom teachers in three high-need areas: special education, hard-to-staff geographical locations, and Hawaiian language immersion programs. Hawai‘i DOE introduces proposal to tackle teacher shortage through pay incentives http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Hawaii-DOE-introduces-proposal-to-tackle-teacher-shortage-through-pay-incentives.aspx Hawai‘i DOE introduces proposal to tackle teacher shortage through pay incentives The Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) announced a new initiative to tackle Hawai‘i’s teacher shortage by providing incentives for educators teaching in critical areas. Hickam Elementary dedicates new Media Center and Makerspace facilities to boost STEM achievement http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Hickam-Elementary-new-building.aspx Hickam Elementary dedicates new Media Center and Makerspace facilities to boost STEM achievement Hickam Elementary dedicated a new facility dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in a ceremony with excited students, parents and staff. The new two-story building houses a media center, makerspaces, student support services and the administration office. HIDOE to provide free Hawaiian language courses for all employees through UH Community Colleges http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/HawaiianLanguageLearningOpportunity.aspx HIDOE to provide free Hawaiian language courses for all employees through UH Community Colleges Upon successful completion, teachers will be able to receive professional development credits and all other employees will be able to earn college credit. Solomon Elementary unveils $90 million renovated campus http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/solomondedication.aspx Solomon Elementary unveils $90 million renovated campus 1SG Samuel K. Solomon Elementary School held a dedication ceremony to mark the completion of its new two-story, four-building school complex. The dedication also commemorates the school’s 50th anniversary. Hawaii’s ELL students show progress on Nation’s Report Card http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Nations-Report-Card.aspx Hawaii’s ELL students show progress on Nation’s Report Card Results released today by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show double-digit gains for Hawaii’s fourth grade English Language Learners (ELL). State average scaled scores for fourth grade ELL students increased by 26 points for reading and 13 points for mathematics compared to 2017 results, outpacing the nation’s growth (+2 reading; +2 mathematics). Mililani High and Waipahu High leaders honored as Principal and Vice Principal of the Year http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Mililani-High-and-Waipahu-High-leaders-honored-as-Principal-and-Vice-Principal-of-the-Year.aspx Mililani High and Waipahu High leaders honored as Principal and Vice Principal of the Year The Hawaii Association of Secondary School Administrators honored Fred Murphy from Mililani High School as the state’s National Distinguished Principal of the Year and Meryl Matsumura from Waipahu High School as the Vice Principal of the Year. Ka‘imiloa Elementary School’s Cecilia Chung named 2020 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/2020-Hawaii-State-Teacher-of-the-Year.aspx Ka‘imiloa Elementary School’s Cecilia Chung named 2020 Hawaii State Teacher of the Year Ka‘imiloa Elementary School teacher Cecilia Chung was named the 2020 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year. Ewa Makai Middle dedicates new $24 million classroom wing http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Ewa-Makai-Middle-dedicates-new-campus-wing.aspx Ewa Makai Middle dedicates new $24 million classroom wing Ewa Makai Middle celebrated the dedication of a new 24-room, two-story campus wing to accommodate approximately 450 new sixth-graders. 4 public school educators honored with Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/2019PAEMSTwinners.aspx 4 public school educators honored with Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Four Hawai‘i public school teachers were awarded one of the nation's most prestigious honors for teachers. HIDOE Launches Campaign to Increase FAFSA Completion http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/FAFSA2019.aspx HIDOE Launches Campaign to Increase FAFSA Completion HIDOE is launching a campaign to boost the number of students completing the FAFSA. Niu Valley Middle School breaks ground on new World Language Center http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Niu-Valley-Middle-School-World-Language-Center.aspx Niu Valley Middle School breaks ground on new World Language Center The Hawaii State Department of Education held a groundbreaking ceremony at Niu Valley Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 10 for its new World Language Center. HIDOE awarded nearly $50 million in five-year Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Striving-Readers-Comprehensive-Literacy-Grant .aspx HIDOE awarded nearly $50 million in five-year Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) was awarded $49,839,514 through a five-year federal grant aimed at supporting language and literacy development growth in Hawaii public schools. Kapolei High students give back during fall break and gain valuable building industry experience http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Kapolei-High-GCA-building-project.aspx Kapolei High students give back during fall break and gain valuable building industry experience Under mentoring by industry professionals, Kapolei High students built a brand-new stage for Makakilo Elementary’s cafeteria. Annual Strive HI performance update shows positive college and career readiness trends http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Strive-HI-2019.aspx Annual Strive HI performance update shows positive college and career readiness trends 2018-19 Strive HI Performance System results were released today. The results show promising gains in college and career readiness among public school students. Hickam, Lāʻie & Waialua elementary schools named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/2019-NBRS.aspx Hickam, Lāʻie & Waialua elementary schools named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Hickam, Lāʻie and Waialua elementary schools have been named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the US Department of Education. Department announces 2019-20 enrollment figures for public and charter schools http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/2019-20-enrollment.aspx Department announces 2019-20 enrollment figures for public and charter schools Hawaii's public and charter schools combined enrollment for school year 2019-20 totals 179,331 students, compared to 179,698 last year, a difference of 0.2 percent. HIDOE names 2019 Employee, Manager and Team of the Year http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/HIDOE-names-2019-Employee-Manager-and-Team-of-the-Year.aspx HIDOE names 2019 Employee, Manager and Team of the Year HIDOE named its 2019 Employee, Manager and Team of the Year award winners, recognizing employees for their outstanding and continued contributions to education and the students of Hawai‘i. Community identifies action opportunities to help achieve five promises to students http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/2030-Plan-first-draft.aspx Community identifies action opportunities to help achieve five promises to students Nearly 2,800 stakeholders responded to the call for equity, excellence and innovation in public schools during the summer. A Phase II feedback window on a first draft of the 2030 Promise Plan is open through Sept. 20, 2019. Joint Venture Education Forum celebrates 20th year of education partnerships with Hawaii’s military community http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/JVEF-2019.aspx Joint Venture Education Forum celebrates 20th year of education partnerships with Hawaii’s military community The Joint Venture Education Forum (JVEF), a cooperative partnership between Hawaii’s military community, HIDOE and other community organizations, highlighted success stories of Hawaii’s military students and their families at its 20th Annual Meeting today. School Directed AC program empowers schools and communities to take the lead on cooling classrooms http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Schools-Directed-AC.aspx School Directed AC program empowers schools and communities to take the lead on cooling classrooms HIDOE is empowering schools to lead the charge on cooling classrooms using a new process designed to more quickly deploy AC in buildings that can accommodate the increased energy use. Professional string musicians inspire Niu Valley Middle students with performances and advice http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Niu-Valley-Middle-music.aspx Professional string musicians inspire Niu Valley Middle students with performances and advice Students were treated to performances and words of wisdom from classically trained string musicians. UH News Release: Possible exposure of public and charter school student information reported http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/UH-News-Possible-exposure-of-public-and-charter-school-student-information-reported.aspx UH News Release: Possible exposure of public and charter school student information reported Graduation Alliance, a vendor contracted by the University of Hawai‘i (UH) for Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education (Hawai‘i P-20), reported that Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) public and charter school student data used for college and career planning resources on the My Future Hawai‘i website may have been exposed to unauthorized access. HIDOE & Hawaii Teacher Standards Board applaud Governor’s signing of House Bill 1070 in support of new teachers http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/HIDOE-HTSB-Joint-Statement.aspx HIDOE & Hawaii Teacher Standards Board applaud Governor’s signing of House Bill 1070 in support of new teachers HIDOE and the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board applaud Governor David Ige’s signing of House Bill 1070 into law. Act 116 will provide $600,000 in both fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 for teacher stipends for the “Grow Our Own Teachers” initiative to cover annual licensing fees for new and untenured teachers. New 'Aina Pono food delivery truck serving free meals to children on summer break from Waianae to Makaha http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Aina-Pono-summer-food-truck.aspx New 'Aina Pono food delivery truck serving free meals to children on summer break from Waianae to Makaha On the Waianae Coast, the new ʻAina Pono food delivery truck is bringing free meals to children as part of the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program, manned by volunteers from the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. HIDOE names Hilo-Waiakea Complex Area Superintendent http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/ConnectWithUs/MediaRoom/PressReleases/Pages/Hilo-Waiakea-CAS.aspx HIDOE names Hilo-Waiakea Complex Area Superintendent Esther Kanehailua named Complex Area Superintendent to oversee East Hawaii Island schools. Teacher collaboration unleashing innovation, best practices http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/VisionForSuccess/Newsletters/Supts-Corner/Pages/051619.aspx Teacher collaboration unleashing innovation, best practices From Supt. Christina M. Kishimoto: We will see a transformation in our special education programs as a result of the renewed commitment to collaboration by our schools and teachers, creating equitable learning experiences for our most vulnerable students. Here are some school-level examples of best practices around collaboration that are contributing to advancements in equity. School bells ring, but why? http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/VisionForSuccess/SuccessStories/TeachersAndPrincipals/Pages/school-bell.aspx School bells ring, but why? School communities are being asked to "think out of the box" about how to deliver upon five student promises by 2030 as part of the public school system's next 10 years of strategic planning. What do schools need to do to advance equity, excellence and innovation for all, and what current procedures, policies, infrastructure and other elements should be reconsidered? State Office Teacher Bobby Widhalm shares his thoughts about the school bell.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line609
__label__cc	0.509984	0.490016	Hawaii Department of Education > Vision For Success > Success Stories > Schools > Hawaii educators trained on new student assessments Hawaii educators trained on new student assessments The Smarter Balanced assessments will have its first full run in schools this spring. Here's a peek inside the training sessions held for all districts across the state to help prepare school administrators and staff. Training session for Central District administrators and staff. ‹ Previous PhotoNext Photo › “We hear this phrase that we are preparing kids for jobs that don’t exist today. We are truly doing some groundbreaking work.” While teaching 9th grade years ago, Shelbi Cole noticed many of her students arrived in her class lacking the necessary foundational math skills and understanding of key concepts. “There is a very real new skillset that is required for students to be successful,” she says, adding that students are “moving away from memorizing formulas to understanding the reasoning and logic of solving problems.” Today, Cole is the deputy director of content for the Smarter Balanced assessments, which are designed to demonstrate knowledge — as opposed to just choosing answers from a list. Smarter Balanced replaces the former Hawaii State Assessments (HSA) this spring. Cole was in Hawaii in January to help conduct training for school and district staff, covering everything from test administration and coordination to interpreting student results. Smarter Balanced assessments in English Language Arts/Literacy and Math for grades 3-8 and 11 are aligned to the new Hawaii Common Core standards, which define what students should know at each grade to graduate ready for college and careers. The assessments will measure not only what students know, but also how well they can apply their knowledge in real-world situations. “We hear this phrase that we are preparing kids for jobs that don’t exist today,” Cole told educators on Maui. “We are truly doing some groundbreaking work.” Brian Reiter, administrator of the DOE’s assessment section, walked attendees through high-tech features of the Smarter Balanced assessments — expandable text passages, a zooming tool, an on-screen notepad, a digital highlighter, and the ability for students to pause the tests. The assessments also have a spell check that provides a drop-down menu with a list of words – not all of them correct – for students to select. “It’s important for students to learn these new tools prior to taking the summative assessments,” Reiter said. The recent trainings are the latest tune-up for Hawaii’s public schools, which have been preparing for the assessment transition for some time now. Last year, Hawaii students took a “bridge” assessment that included items aligned with new standards (Common Core) and former standards (Hawaii Content Performance Standards). Additionally, students at nearly 100 schools participated in a Smarter Balanced field test, a sort of practice run to ensure questions are valid, reliable and fair to all children. Schools also have had the opportunity to conduct practice and training tests this school year. “We want the system, students and teachers to be ready, but we don't want to overburden them with extra work and time away from instruction,” said Steve Franz, principal of Kamehameha III Elementary in Lahaina. The school has been testing its internet capacity to avoid any glitches on days students take the real assessments, he added. Franz noted it will be important to remind parents and the community that student results this year will create a new baseline; it is expected the change to new standards and assessments will likely lead to lower scores. Supt. Kathryn Matayoshi has written letters to parents explaining that “results from this year are a new starting point.” “Teachers and administrators have been working hard to support all children as they learn to problem solve, be a team member, communicate and think critically – all the skills colleges and employers will be looking for once your child graduates,” Matayoshi wrote. It’s reasonable to compare test results from this year with next year’s results (same assessments), as opposed to comparing them with previous years. Families who want to learn more about how to support their children through this transition are encouraged to visit our Family Resources page. Communications and Community Affairs Office Email: doe_info@hawaiidoe.org Hawaii’s ELL students show progress on Nation’s Report Card Hawaii’s ELL students show progress on Nation’s Report Card Mililani High and Waipahu High leaders honored as Principal and Vice Principal of the Year Mililani High and Waipahu High leaders honored as Principal and Vice Principal of the Year Hickam, Lāʻie & Waialua elementary schools named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Hickam, Lāʻie & Waialua elementary schools named 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools HIDOE names 2019 Employee, Manager and Team of the Year HIDOE names 2019 Employee, Manager and Team of the Year School bells ring, but why? School bells ring, but why? Hawai'i public school teachers named finalists for Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Hawai'i public school teachers named finalists for Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching January 2015 parent letter: Smarter Balanced	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line610
__label__wiki	0.793788	0.793788	— Main Menu —Locations - Atlanta, GA - Augusta, GA - Birmingham, AL - Chicago, IL - Hartford, CT - Indy, IN - Jacksonville, FL - Kansas City, MO - Louisville, KY - Los Angeles, CA - Mobile, AL - Nashville, TN - New Haven, CT - New Orleans, LA - Orlando, FL - Philadelphia, PA - St Louis, MO - Washington D.C. Submit a Review About Us Voices Partners FAQ Advertise Contact Us Indy, IN Want to help your city come out on Hayden's List? Show some love and... submit a review today Hayden's List > Growing Up Hayden > Olympics 2016 Another LGBT Win Posted: Aug 20, 2016 By: Regina Tingle Italian Olympian, Rachele Bruni has just officially upped the number of LGBT athletes competing in the Olympics this year to fifty-one. After winning her medal and dedicating it to her “beloved,” people wanted to know who she was referring to. It was then she admitted it was for her girlfriend who had accompanied her to Rio. “I’ve never done a big coming out. Undoubtedly there are people who have too many prejudices, but I live peacefully. I do not think about the prejudices, I live for myself, for my passion for swimming and for the people who love me,” said Bruni. Tags: Italy, LGBT, LGBT Coming Out Stories, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Coming Out Stories, Olympics, Olympics 2016, Rachele Bruni, Rio Olympics, Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics 2016, Swimming Proud Parent: a label so many deserve By: Scott Tayloe The following is a letter from Scott Tayloe, our Founder, in response to NBC Olympic correspondent Al Trautwig’s tweet, “They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents.” regarding Simone Bile’s parents. Dear Mr. Trautwig, Parenting, in direct definition, is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial and intellectual development of a child. Our child, birthed by a mother and father who knew that they couldn’t support him in these various ways, chose to adopt their child to us. From the moment we cut the cord in the delivery room we have seriously and proudly undertaken these duties. We have changed his diapers, held him while he cried, taught him the difference between right and wrong. We have nourished him in our home where he has a roof over his head for as long as we are alive. We’ve given him guidance on how to act and how to speak. We have given him a glimpse into this beautiful world with all of its great differences, differences that we believe only make us stronger as a whole. Mr. Trautwig, based on your strong opinion on who an Olympic athlete’s parents are, I fear you don’t fully understand or grasp what it means to be a parent. And I regret that as a parent, one of my most difficult duties is to have to explain to our son how and why it is there are people out there like you. All we can do is remind him how proud we are to be his parents. Congratulations, Simone, on your Olympic medals. And congratulations to your parents on raising such an incredible and inspiring daughter. Scott Tayloe Site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenting Tags: Adoption, Al Trautwig, LGBT, LGBT Parents, LGBTQ, Olympics, Olympics 2016, Rio Olympics, Simone Biles, Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics 2016 “Out” Athletes at the Olympics By: Veronica DiLullo Forty-five athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics are open members of the LGBTQ community. Eight of these athletes are from the United States. Hayden’s List congratulates these outstanding Olympians and wishes them nothing but success in their quest for gold! Seimone Augustus, Basketball Augustus is a five-time All Star with the WNBA and is heading into Rio as a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She is an advocate for the LGBTQ community, especially in sports, saying it is the “alpha-male ego” of male athletes that cannot accept gay players. Elena Delle Donne, Basketball Donne was the 2nd overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. She is a current member of the Chicago Sky. Donne is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics. She came out right before the Opening Ceremonies to Vogue Magazine. Kelly Griffin, Rugby Griffin is a member of the first-ever Olympic Women’s Rugby Team for the United States. She is married to Ashley Griffin with two children. Brittney Griner, Basketball Griner is passionate about fighting bullying. She told the LA Times “When I was younger, it really bothered me…I’ve learned to love myself.” Angel McCoughtry, Basketball McCoughtry grew up with “traditional” family values and father who was a pastor. Needless to say she was scared to come out. McCoughtry told ESPN “…I wasn’t expecting it to turn out this positive.” Ashley Nee, Kayak White Water Slalom Nee was terrified of rapids as a child and now is competing for gold. After a shoulder injury took her out of the 2008 Summer Olympics, it was Nee’s wife who encouraged her to continue to pursue her dream. Jillion Potter, Rugby Potter has come back from a spinal injury and a cancer diagnosis to compete in Rio. She’s also come a long way from her Texas high school that cut a girl from the basketball team for being gay. Potter believes that rugby is a very accepting sport, “…anyone has a place, and it really becomes a safe place to be yourself.” She also takes her responsibility as an “out” athlete very seriously. “It transforms society’s views when young boys and girls see gay athletes with their partners, and they ask their parents, ‘Oh, that’s OK?’ It becomes commonplace, something people don’t have to be afraid of.” Megan Rapinoe, Soccer Rapinoe competed in London in 2012 and scored a “Goal Olimpico” which is kicking a ball in a curve from the corner of the field. She came home with the gold medal. Rapinoe works with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and also Athlete Ally. Twenty-four percent or eleven athletes of the forty-five “out” athletes are male Seventy-six percent or thirty-four of the athletes female For the United States, all “out” athletes are female Do you agree with Seimone Augustus and the “alpha-male ego” that does not allow for gay males to be out as athletes? Share with Hayden’s List your thoughts. Tags: Basketball, Kayak, LGBT Coming Out Stories, LGBT Sports, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Coming Out Stories, LGBTQ Sports, Olympics, Olympics 2016, Rio 2016, Rio Olympics, Rugby, Soccer, Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics 2016, WNBA, Women's Sports Slurs at LGBT Olympians Reports show that LGBT athletes are the target of homophobic slurs. Megan Rapinoe, a lesbian from the US women’s soccer team said she’s heard words like “bicha” and “puta” while on the field. (“Bicha is a Portuguese word similar to ‘faggot.’) Rapinoe told the LA Times, “It is personally hurtful, I think a sort of a mob mentality kind of takes over.” She adds, “I don’t think that all Brazilians fans or everyone that was there last night is homophobic.” Tags: LGBT, LGBTQ, Megan Rapinoe, Olympics, Olympics 2016, Rio Olympics, slurs, Soccer, Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics 2016, US Soccer, US Women's Soccer BBC Commentator’s Homophobic Remarks A spokesperson from the BBC apologized on behalf of Paul Hand, tennis commentator. As the kisscam panned the crowd, Hand said, ‘Let’s hope they don’t go on to two blokes sat next to each other.’ Spectators reacted on twitter, asking the BBC to enlighten Hand, saying that it’s perfectly acceptable for two men to kiss. BBC said, ‘The comment was ill judged and we apologise to any of our viewers who were offended.’ Tags: BBC, kisscam, LGBT, LGBTQ, Olympics, Olympics 2016, Paul Hand, Rio Olympics, Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics 2016, Tennis Georgia Senate Approves Ban on LGBTQ Adoptions NFL Trainer Saves Player’s Life Transgender Firefighter Marches as Grand Marshall in NYC Pride Parade Real Life with Soup The Buzzz Advocates Growing Up Hayden HL Happenings Hot on "The List" New on "The List" Now Live Tell Us Tuesday Uncategorized Voices Your Story Growing Up Hayden We want to hear it all. The fabulous, the good the bad, & the ugly. Along with the Middle East https://t.co/bqNPqUR2aR 2 years ago RT @PinkNews: Germany celebrates as first same-sex couples marry after law change https://t.co/GdDxsQsXAc 2 years ago retweeted via PinkNews RT @DrRonHolt: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"- Dr Suess. @Wipe… 2 years ago retweeted via DrRonHolt © 2014-2019 HAYDEN’S LIST \| TERMS & CONDITIONS \| PRIVACY POLICY \| SITE MAP	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line611
__label__cc	0.57867	0.42133	Airasia and MAHB should just communicate more It seems we have no choice and Airasia has less choice as well. Most of Malaysian airports are operated by a single operator - MAHB and that will not change in the next 5 - 10 years. There are (almost) no competitors. The entire KLIA2 seems to be for Airasia and Airasia X. I know Airasia is now a regional airlines and they could have focus their energy and routes into Thailand, Philippines or India for example, but MAHB is not stupid to know that Malaysia is probably still the most profitable base for Airasia. I was at KLIA2 a week ago, and I noticed the self check-in machine can now print baggage tags. From this, I thought that I do not need to queue to check in my luggage anymore, but that is not so. I was telling the Airasia's staff that was assigned to help those to do self check-in that the printing of tags does not change anything as I still have to queue to to deliver my bags. She agreed. As I would have thought, there is a missing step which Airasia would pursue in the future. From reading the below article (http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/07/09/tony-fernandes-slams-mahb-allegedly-failing-provide-bag-drop-machines), I guess now what the self-service printing of tags are for. In some airports, once can actually do self check in of bags, hence reducing manpower costs - i.e. part of better automation which we need. Tony Fernandes slams MAHB for allegedly failing to provide bag drop machines PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has criticised Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) for its failure to offer the low-cost carrier baggage facilities at its airports throughout the country. Expressing that he was "fed up" with MAHB, Fernandes claimed that the airport operator had promised 30 bag drop machines this month. "Zero and now they say no budget!!!!!!!!," he said in a Facebook posting yesterday. Fernandes also claimed that AirAsia Bhd CEO Aireen Omar had offered to pay for the machines two years ago, but MAHB had insisted on providing the facilities. Calling on MAHB not to behave like a "monopoly", he further praised the Senai Airport in Johor, describing it as a "hard working private entrepreneurial". The airport is currently operated by Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd and one of the few in the country not operated by MAHB. "We need more 'Senai airports' in Malaysia. Create more entrepreneurs. More economic activity. Hope the new (MAHB) chairman Tan Sri Syed Zainol Anwar Syed Putra Jamalullail and (MAHB chief strategy officer) Azli (Mohamed) will sort out the mess," he said. My reading of this is also bringing to me that actually there is very little communication between MAHB and Airasia. I think both are at fault as it could have been resolved amicably. I know and I have also complained before MAHB is really monopolistic in behaviour, but that is what we have to put up with in Malaysia. Unless, Airasia does not intend to operate Malaysia as a significant base. As mentioned, Airasia has some negotiation power as it is not an airline that is dependent on Malaysia alone - but still close to 50% of its passengers are using Malaysian airports (those that are run by MAHB). I guess both parties have to suck it up - and I have to admit it will not be easy to do for both the bosses - as MAHB can really act like any Malaysian GLCs. Tech IT Solutions said... I think Air Asia and MAHB should sort out this matter at their earliest convenience because its not only effecting their reputation but is also causing inconvenience to their passengers. WCE's new equity raising Moving from DKSH to Tunepro and Ekovest Why I would buy Petron over Hengyuan It will take a big "Leap" for people to show their... Collusion between MAS and Malindo? Airasia is just killing competitors locally Why was Esso sold to Petron	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line617
__label__cc	0.732944	0.267056	Digital Music Ascendant By Kenneth Corbin \| April 10, 2008 A new report from research firm In-Stat predicts that online music sales will account for 40 percent of all music sold by 2012. For perspective, digital music was 6 percent of the world wide market in 2006, and just 10 percent in last year. So per In-Stat's estimate, the proportional market will increase 30 percentage points in five years. A dramatic illustration of this trend can be found in the industry's shifting leader board. NPD Group recently reported that Apple has eclipsed Wal-Mart as the nation's leading music retailer. In explaining the dramatic growth In-Stat is projecting, the analysts cited the sustained demand for downloads of individual songs, increasing broadband uptake, and the expanding inventory available in online catalogs. Of course, the record labels are still struggling with ways to regain control of the digital music business from Apple, so you see them striking deals with [MySpace ](/webcontent/article.php/3738546/MySpace+Music+Goes+Mainstream.htm)and [Amazon](/ec-news/article.php/3721186/Sony+BMG+Opens+DRMFree+Content+to+Amazon.htm) to offer their content free of digital rights management (DRM) software, a concession most of them have not yet made with Apple. In-Stat cited lingering DRM restrictions as a drag on the rise of digital music, but the overwhelming popularity of iTunes suggests that it might not be so big of a consumer issue after all. At the very least, it seems unlikely to serve as the differentiator that the labels hope it will be as they cast around for an iTunes killer. In-Stat identified the single biggest anchor on the digital music industry as piracy, also noting that the subscription-based services are still relatively unpopular. MLB Mosaic: Something For The Superfans Another Grim Reminder of Newspapers' Woes Teens And The Printed Word Didn't You Know That Printing Money is Illegal? See You in Court, Google! The Politics of MySpace Innovation of Many Stripes Go Time: Microsoft Hands Yahoo an Ultimatum	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line618
__label__cc	0.687942	0.312058	Intérieurs de la Terre et des planètes Système Terre Ancient Igneous Intrusions and Early Expansion of the Moon Revealed by GRAIL Gravity Gradiometry Type de publication: Auteurs: Andrews-Hanna, Jeffrey C.; Asmar, Sami W.; Head, James W., III; Kiefer, Walter S.; Konopliv, Alexander S.; Lemoine, Frank G.; Matsuyama, Isamu; Mazarico, Erwan; McGovern, Patrick J.; Melosh, H. Jay; Neumann, Gregory A.; Nimmo, Francis; Phillips, Roger J.; Smith, David E.; Solomon, Sean C.; Taylor, G. Jeffrey; Mark A. Wieczorek; Williams, James G.; Zuber, Maria T. Science, Volume 339, Nombre 6120, p.675-678 (2013) UMR 7154, Planétologie et sciences spatiales The earliest history of the Moon is poorly preserved in the surface geologic record due to the high flux of impactors, but aspects of that history may be preserved in subsurface structures. Application of gravity gradiometry to observations by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission results in the identification of a population of linear gravity anomalies with lengths of hundreds of kilometers. Inversion of the gravity anomalies indicates elongated positive-density anomalies that are interpreted to be ancient vertical tabular intrusions or dikes formed by magmatism in combination with extension of the lithosphere. Crosscutting relationships support a pre-Nectarian to Nectarian age, preceding the end of the heavy bombardment of the Moon. The distribution, orientation, and dimensions of the intrusions indicate a globally isotropic extensional stress state arising from an increase in the Moon's radius by 0.6 to 4.9 kilometers early in lunar history, consistent with predictions of thermal models.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line620
__label__cc	0.523549	0.476451	Telecoms Package Net Neutrality WCIT-2012: ITU scrap heats up over toxic Internet proposals WCIT-2012: ITU scrap heats up over toxic Internet proposals The EU and the US go head-to-head with Arab and African states over “free” telecoms markets. But what does this proposal really mean for the Internet? As the 2012 World Congress of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) - also known as the WCIT-2012 - got underway this week, and deep political fissures are looming over the future of the Internet, with an EU-US axis directly opposed to an Arab-African alliance. The conflict was provoked by proposals tabled by the European telco organisation ETNO, but appears to have evolved. The issue at stake is the International Telecommunications Regulations – often referred to by the acronym of ITRs. The ITRs were first drafted at a meeting in Melbourne, Australia in 1988, in a meeting that had a similar whiff of conflict. The original ITRs were pushed through using the strong will of the USA and the EU. The original ITRs contain a provision as follows: Administrations shall endeavour to provide sufficient telecommunication facilities to meet the requirements of and demand for international telecommunication services. This text is intended to express a very basic principle, to ensure that international telecoms services are provided in all countries and that they interconnect with those of other countries. It was written for the old environment of voice telephony. In the present-day Internet environment it is a little clunky, but could still apply. If I understand it correctly, it is only intended to apply to the interconnection of international services, and to ensure that services can operate to all countries. What’s a happening at the WCIT 2012 is that various ITU members want to turn this basic principle of international interconnection into a political statement. And they want to twist it, in order to tell countries how to run their domestic telecoms services. The first to have a go was the European Telecommunications Network operators group (ETNO), who a set of toxic proposals for a prioritised Internet. (See ITU 2012 - Europe’s telcos slip poison pill in new Internet rules ). These ETNO proposals call for a sending party pays ‘principle’ and a division of Internet traffic into a fast lane – for those who pay, and a slow ‘best efforts’ lane, for those who don’t. In essence, it goes against the principle of Net neutrality. These proposals have been re-tabled by the ITU Secretary General: Operating agencies shall endeavour to provide sufficient telecommunication facilities to meet the requirements of and demand for international telecommunication services. For this purpose, and to ensure an adequate return on investment in high bandwidth infrastructures, operating agencies shall negotiate commercial agreements to achieve a sustainable system of fair compensation for telecommunications services and, where appropriate, respecting the principle of sending party network pays. The EU has already made it clear that it disapproves of the ETNO proposals, which really do jump the gun on Brussels policy-making and set up an agenda for anti-net neutrality practices without any democratic debate. On that basis, it is unlikely the ETNO proposals could be accepted. But it would seem that the EU has jumped into bed with the United States, to come up with a different variant: Administrations shall encourage investment in sufficient telecommunication facilities to meet the requirements of and demand for international telecommunication services,inter alia through the fostering of competitive and liberalized telecommunication markets. The issue is what does ‘fostering of competitive and liberalised telecommunication markets’ mean? One interpretation is that it meets the status quo of the EU acquis communitaire, which does promote a liberalised and competitive market for infrastructure. Another is that it could open the door for something very similar to the ETNO proposal, it just doesn’t say so as clearly. It really depends how you define ‘telecoms markets’. From their perspective, the ETNO proposal is about free competition. Certainly, the EU-US proposal brings a political agenda for liberalisation and free trade in telecoms services into the ITU discussions, and it almost certainly is provoking conflict. It’s notable that ETNO is not alone in pushing for anti-net neutrality practices, and it is has been supported in previous lobbying in the EU by AT&T and Verizon, who are also lobbying in their home turf. From what can be ascertained, the EU-US axis is pitted against opposition from an Arab-African alliance. My interpretation is that they do not want competitive or liberalised markets of any sort: Administrations shall establish policies that promote the provision of technical facilities that support international telecommunication and shall ensure that operating agencies endeavour to provide sufficient telecommunication facilities to meet the requirements of and demand for international telecommunications/ICT services. Whatever is the real meaning, there sure is a conflict brewing behind the closed ITU doors. *I will be following the WCIT-12 - watch iptegrity.com for more over the next 2 weeks. This is an original article from Iptegrity.com. If you refer to it or to its content, you should cite my name as the author, and provide a link back to iptegrity.com. Media and Academics – please cite as Monica Horten, WCIT-2012: ITU scrap heats up over toxic Internet proposals , in www.iptegrity.com, 5 December 2012 . Commercial users - please contact me.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line621
__label__wiki	0.664362	0.664362	Viewing feedback for DARREN26 FA Cup 4th Round (away) Discussion in 'Tickets' started by dogrady26, Jan 14, 2020. Liverpool FC has released the following ticket details for the FA Cup fourth round. The Reds will travel to the winner of this evening's third-round replay between Shrewsbury Town and Bristol City. Away tickets for the fourth-round clash will go on sale from 1pm on Wednesday January 15 and the selling criteria will be as follows: Tickets will be available to season ticket holders and official Members who have recorded the following FA Cup away fixtures during the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons: Wolverhampton Wanderers (2018-19) Plymouth Argyle (2016-17) Exeter City (2015-16) West Ham United (2015-16) Shrewsbury Town v Liverpool: Tickets will be on sale initially to supporters who have recorded all four games. Bristol City v Liverpool: Tickets will be on sale initially to supporters who have recorded three games. Full selling details will be published here on completion of Shrewsbury and Bristol City’s replay. https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/tickets/382700-fa-cup-fourth-round-ticket-details #1 dogrady26, Jan 14, 2020 Kop202 Any spares ? #2 Kop202, Jan 14, 2020 ElconorLFC Shrewsbury so, was hoping for Bristol not a hope I’ll get a ticket on two for this. #3 ElconorLFC, Jan 14, 2020 Liverpool FC has released the following away ticket details for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Shrewsbury Town at Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium on Sunday January 26. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5pm GMT. The club have received a total allocation of 1,684 stand tickets for this all-ticket fixture. Supporters not in possession of a ticket are urged not to travel. Under 24/Students: £15 Under 19: £8 Please be aware that supporters in possession of concessionary tickets will be asked for ID at the turnstiles. If supporters are not able to provide the relevant ID, they will be refused entry. Hospitality members Sir Kenny Dalglish Box holders, Premium Level and Centenary Club members should contact the Hospitality Department on 0151 264 2222, option 2. Within the allocation, we have received 17 pairs of wheelchair and personal assistant tickets. Tickets will be available to season ticket holders and official Members who recorded previous ticket purchases for wheelchair bays for FA Cup away fixtures. Ambulant and personal assistant tickets are also available - please click here for full details. The below sales will take place ONLINE only. Four games: from 1pm on Wednesday January 15 until 12.30pm on Thursday January 16. Supporters are guaranteed a ticket during this sale and can purchase one ticket per person, up to a maximum of 10 tickets per transaction. The following sale will then take place on a first come first served basis, subject to availability, and supporters can purchase one ticket per person up to a maximum of four tickets per transaction. Three or more games: from 1pm on Thursday January 16. Should there be any tickets remaining following the initial sales, Liverpool FC will make a further announcement. Supporters are advised to check here for sale updates. #4 KK1977, Jan 14, 2020 kop75 Anyone any joy today? #5 kop75, Jan 16, 2020 at 1:30 PM Horan01 Got 3 out of 4, problem with my own card so had to delete it from the basket, fair pissed off that I've lost that game #6 Horan01, Jan 16, 2020 at 1:54 PM Close thing with queue times but got sorted with 2 just before it sold out. #7 KK1977, Jan 16, 2020 at 2:10 PM Horan01 said: ↑ That's a pain. Sale with 4 previous finished at 12:30pm today and the 3 previous sale was at 1pm. Out of curiosity when did you lads manage to buy as the site was saying Sold Out before 1pm and I had over an hour Queue time so missed out on it. I went to log in initially around 12:20 and I know they stupidly ran West Ham away sales as well. #9 hendrix, Jan 16, 2020 at 7:52 PM We missed out too, was a complete fuck up I only got over an hour other lad got 1 in basket but was then kicked trying to buy it #10 kop75, Jan 16, 2020 at 9:33 PM kop75 said: ↑ Being kicked out when buying tickets seems to be happening a lot recently, happened to me and a few lads for the United sale and probably more than one incident today. #11 Garyoc97, Jan 16, 2020 at 10:38 PM hendrix said: ↑ Sold Out often appears between sales when there is a short period of time like today. I don't know if the ticket office just take everything down or if it's muppets that don't qualify filling their baskets. I joined the queue on a PC around 12:30 (got the "Less than 45mins") and on a phone seconds later ("Over an hour"). That's how close a call it is. Managed to get in at 1pm exactly and grabbed two together but it's completely down to luck at a time like today. (The phone was still over an hour by the time I'd got sorted). If you had've joined the queue at 12:20, you would probably have had a short waiting time but then would find that your 30mins would expire before the sale would even begin at 1pm. So joining early wouldn't have worked today either. #12 KK1977, Jan 16, 2020 at 11:59 PM There was Shrewsbury tickets still on the site until about 12:35 and they took the game down off the site until 1pm then. #13 dogrady26, Jan 17, 2020 at 8:13 AM I saw that. I could select them but couldn't add them to the basket. #14 KK1977, Jan 17, 2020 at 9:22 AM	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line622
__label__cc	0.696155	0.303845	You are at:Home»All News»Water»Formal collaboration needed for safe drinking water Formal collaboration needed for safe drinking water July 6, 2017 Water Water New Zealand is calling for formal collaboration in the drinking water sector to help avoid another contamination crisis. Its submission to stage two of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry (which is looking at systemic changes needed to improve the drinking water regulatory environment) says that there is a need for a new system of formalised collaboration across the sector, mandated at a national level. Stage one of the inquiry looked at causes of the outbreak and found that the “dysfunctional relationship” between the regional and district councils and their lack of co-operation resulted in a number of missed opportunities that may have prevented the outbreak from occurring. Across the country, there are 76 water utilities, 20 district health boards, 16 regional councils and several government ministries involved in regulating various aspects of water. Water New Zealand CEO, John Pfahlert, says that with so many agencies involved it is inevitable that at times they will work independently of each other and that inconsistencies and gaps could occur. However, he says a “one -size-fits-all” collaboration approach would not be appropriate. “While it is important that collaboration is mandated at a high level, the details need to be determined at a regional level to allow each region to develop an approach that best suits its particular circumstances.” He says that since the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak many other regions have already taken steps to work more collaboratively and to close any communication gaps in their region. But he says it’s important that collaboration or partnerships do not operate in a vacuum because there are other changes, such as through legislation, that are also needed to ensure safe drinking water across the country. Share. Twitter Facebook Google+ LinkedIn Email Previous ArticleScientists identify biosecurity global ‘game-changers’ Next Article Ruataniwha land swap denied by Supreme Court The fundamental problem with New Zealand’s water regulation Water regulation a major step forward You can’t push regulation change without economic provision Read the latest Digital Edition Free Download for US$10 January 20, 2020 0 New Zealand ranked one of Asia Pacific’s fastest emerging fintech hubs January 17, 2020 0 Energy, vehicles, sustainability – 10 Predictions for 2020 January 10, 2020 0 Is tourism destroying New Zealand? January 6, 2020 0 Rail’s big comeback December 18, 2019 0 New Zealand Construction Sector Training Programme Advertise with AsiaPacific Infrastructure GET THE LATEST NEWS ON FACEBOOK Copyright © 2019 Media Solutions Ltd	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line625
__label__wiki	0.64599	0.64599	Tag Archive: Pla2me Gang Parade – Gang 2 The new single Gang 2 by Gang Parade will be released on May 29th. The single marks the return of the leader Kamiya Saki within after a position exchange with BiS‘ Aya Eagle Price for a long-term. It is also the first single by Gang Parade with two new members: Haruna Bach Chin and Tsuki Nousagi. Check out the music videos of the new songs below. Gang Parade – Breaking The Road Gang Parade will release their new single Breaking The Road on February 20. This is the 9th single by the idol group since its creation, and the 5th under its current name Gang Parade. Check out the MVs for the new songs below! POP changes its name for Gang Parade POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) announced that they had changed their name for GANG PARADE in order to celebrate their 2nd anniversary. The members explained that the idol group changed the name of the group because they want to start a new chapter. POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) – Queen of Pop The new single of POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) will be released on March 15th. It is entitled QUEEN OF POP. This is the 2nd single of POP and the 4th of the idol group formerly known under the name Pla2me. The clip was unveiled. POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) – Happy Lucky Kirakira Lucky The new single of POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) entitled Happy Lucky Kirakira Lucky will be released on December 8. This is the 1st single of POP under its new name. It is the 3rd single of the idol group (the first two ones were released by the band under the name Pla2me). The video clip was unveiled. POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) – P.O.P The new album of POP (Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy) entitled P.O.P was released on August 4. This is the first EP of POP and its first CD after the departure of Mizuta Mari (ex-Iukoneko) and the addition of 4 new members. It’s also the first CD of POP after the name change of the group (previously known under the name Pla2me). Mizuta Mari (ex-Izukoneko) restarts her solo activities Mizuta Mari, formerly known under the name Izukoneko, announced restart her solo projects. She stopped her activities in August 2014 to pursue her career with the new idol group POP (ex-Pla2me). Mizuta Mari finally chose to leave the group the last mounth because of musical differences with Kamiya Saki (ex-BiS). Pla2me : 4 new members and new name POP 4 new members joined Pla2me. Their names are Inukai Maaya, Yamamachi Miki, Shigusawa Ao and Yumeno Yua. Their faces haven’t been revealed yet as they are hidden by their hands on the profile picture. In addition, Pla2me changed their name to POP. The staff explained that it is an acronym for Period Of Plastic 2 Mercy. Pla2me – Unit Idol group Pla2me released its new single UNIT on January 6. This is the second single of Pla2me and its second disc to be released under the label T-Palette Records. The tracklist and the clip video were unveiled. Pla2me – Plastic 2 Mercy Pla2me‘s debut single Plastic 2 Mercy will be released on September 30th. Pla2me (プラニメ) is a new idol group consisting of former BiS member Kamiya Saki and Mizuta Mari (ex Izukoneko). Live video recorded at Tokyo Idol Festival 2014 has been unveiled.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line629
__label__cc	0.691231	0.308769	Serpetinization and Fluid Interaction of... Serpetinization and Fluid Interaction of the Cuesta Ridge Ophiolite, California Kathryn Dianiska Outcrop of the Cuesta Ridge Ophiolite along Hwy 41 near Morro Bay, California. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mode of serpentinization and fluid interaction between serpentinite and rodingite. The serpentinization of ultramafic bodies can occur as a result of fluid flow from meteoric water flowing downwards or from fluids in underthrusted sediments going upwards. Investigation of the petrology and faulting of outcrops of the Cuesta Ridge Ophiolite near Morro Bay, California indicates that serpentinization occurred as top-down metasomatism by meteoric rainwater. The outcrops studied along Highway 41 consist of serpentinite with several rodingititized dikes. There are three different serpentinite lithologic zones distinguished in outcrop by color and increasing distance from contact with the rodingite dike. Lizardite, the low-temperature, low-pressure serpentine mineral, is the most abundant serpentine mineral, with subsidiary chrysotile mostly found as veins. Carbonate veins are numerous, but quartz veins are absent. The color variation and textural differences seen in thin section and mineralogy differences in X-ray diffraction are the result of hydration and metasomatism. During hydration of olivine, Mg-rich serpentine is formed. Ca is released during the serpentinization of clinopyroxene and is concentrated in the metasomatic fluids. This concentration of calcium then creates the Ca-rich minerals characteristic of rodingite that form when the enriched fluids interact with aluminum found in the diabase. The lithologic zones are controlled by the extent of silica and ferric iron diffusing outwards from the rodingite. The edge of the blue serpentinite marks the outer limit of SiO2 metasomatism. The edge of the blackwall reaction zone marks the extent of Fe3+ hematite veins. The dikes show evidence for expansion in three dimensions. Thus, serpentinization occurred near the surface with low confining stress. Fault orientations and slicken lineations indicate that faulting separating this part of the ophiolite from the Franciscan rocks is due to Cenozoic strike-slip movement along the Oceanic – West Huasna fault zone. The contact between the ophiolite and the Franciscan is a strike-slip fault zone dipping about 60° to the northeast. Advisor: Mark Cloos	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line630
__label__wiki	0.562941	0.562941	Sugar Man's Daughter The Great Boatlift of 9/11 The great boatlift of 9/11 became the largest sea evacuation in history. Larger than the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II where 339,000 British and French soldiers were rescued over the course of nine days. On 9/11, nearly 500,00 civilians were rescued by boat. It took nine hours. If you don’t do anything else this September 11th, watch this video. If you’re feeling glum about being American, watch this video If you’re one of those who believes we have become increasingly sedentary, uncaring, sheep-like, watch this video. What I love most about the Manhattan Boat Rescue story is the fact that, for so long, it was an untold one. That, for years – while the firemen, EMS and law officers were lauded for their heroics on September 11th, were given their (very) just dues – the New Yorkers depicted here went largely unnoticed. In fact, they were probably kicked back in their boats, tipping a beer and sharing tales of their . . . well, yes, their heroics. They look like such ordinary people, don’t they? Because they are. But listen, just listen, to what they did. When the towers were burning, when absolute panic and chaos had set in, they turned to their spouses and their kids, and they said “I’ve got to do something.” And then they did. They got into their boats and, without training, without protection, with no thought whatsoever for their own well-being, they went to work. It’s easy, now, to remember September 11th through a veil. A day in history that has begun to take on sepia tones. But the reality was absolute terror. And when these ordinary people in their “ferries, private boats, party boats” answered the Coast Guard’s call for help, they had absolutely no idea what they were getting into. Their world was burning, Manhattan was being evacuated in the only way possible – by boat – and like the firemen, they were running into the fray. “I just had to do something.” Listen to them in the background, that edgy accent encouraging, cajoling, steering people – strangers – to safety. “Over here,” and “I want you to hold my hand.” Listen to them and ask yourself if you’re not proud to be an American. This, this is who we are. Sometimes, we only need a mirror to see ourselves. Here, today, when we commemorate our darkest moment, let these common, ordinary New York Boat Rescuers be your mirror. They are America. We are America. The Professional Editor Lady “Big News, guys.” The Nice Writer Lady gathers her characters on the front porch, her anxious gaze darting from one pensive face to the next. It is August, and the light has an aqueous quality to it, sun motes floating through the lazy flip of fat green leaves. The old Sugar Inn has been home now for several years, and they’ve all left their mark on it – Rush’s guitar leaning in a corner, the girls’ shoes abandoned by the back screen door. “How big?” Bob O’Neill, quintessential alpha male, leans on the railing and folds arms across his chest, already firm in his disregard for The Nice Writer Lady’s (admittedly often dubious) proposals. “I’ve hired an editor,” she blurts, and she can feel astonishment in the ensuing silence – Rush’s calm stare spiking a flush in her cheeks, Bobby’s derision making her squirm. “But we were done!” Nicola combs fingers through her hair, vexed. “Remember? We talked!” “And that was a huge help.” The Nice Writer Lady placates. “But we need to do more.” “What?” Bobby demands. “Your name, for one thing,” she says, and enjoys his apoplectic expression just a bit. “The Bobby/Benny thing is just too much for a lot of readers.” “Are you kidding me now?” he splutters, and she regards him through her reading glasses, silently consulting her higher self until she can ride smoothly past his complaint. “I’ve learned a lot,” she says. “About story structure and character arcs and what the reader wants. It’s been fascinating.” “Reader who?” Bobby is furious, but Rush quiets him with a dismissive hand wave before making a gimmee motion at the Writer Lady. “Tell us more,” he says, and she is proud of him all over again. “Well, take Nicola for instance,” she says. “Do you see how she just disappeared from this conversation? She has to quit doing that.” “Nope,” Nicola says. “Going fishing.” “And Benny.” The Writer Lady persists. “There’s kind of been a public outcry about her. I mean, she was supposed to be central.” Benny is currently swimming. All eyes turn to the lake, the slender shape cutting a path through the glittering tide. Is that Angelo with her, or Toot? “The Professional Editor Lady is sure the story belongs to Benny.” The Writer Lady can’t help sighing just a little. “Oh, and you two, Rush and Bobby – or whoever you are now – you’ve got to go to work. I mean, what do you do all day?” “Hang here and play guitar,” Rush said. “Sometimes sip from a glass of Jamesons.” “Exactly,” the Writer Lady says. “You have an exciting career” – Bobby snorts - “You’re narcotic officers. Let’s see more of what you do.” “Okey-dokey.” Rush rises slowly to his feet and plants a kiss on Nicola’s head. “We’re setting up surveillance downtown tonight. Wanna ride along?” “I do,” The Writer Lady is already on her feet. “But only if this relates to Benny. And, existentially, to Nicola.” “We’ll make it work,” Rush says after a heavy pause. “You’re not rewriting the whole thing, are you?” “Oh heavens no. Only pieces. Say, can the Professional Editor Lady come along too? Her name is Bonnie; you’re going to love her. ~~~ Bonnie Milani "The Professional Editor Lady" is now accepting new clients. Interested writers can contact her through her LinkedIn profile here. Bonnie is also the author of several books, which can be found here. Importing my blog onto the new website has been quite the feat. My team and I are still in the process of categorizing and fine-tuning the years of posts you'll find here. We hope you enjoy our work-in-progress library. Check back soon for updates! -Lucy A Little Bit Of Magick All Seasons' Greetings From The Writer's Desk Lights And Sirens	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line638
__label__cc	0.73645	0.26355	COLDER by Lachlan Philpott presented by PUSSYCATOMOKO at the Griffin theatre. This is another of the curated Co-Ops in the Stablemate season. This is the best new Australian play I have witnessed this year. Developed with the financial assistance of the R.E.ROSS TRUST, Philpott not only breaks with traditional structure and form in his style, he creates a world with a keen eye for authentic detail and depth, has a masterly control of plotting and character revelation with a musician’s ear for rhythm and cadence, the ability to set a theme or subject and to know when to repeat it, develop it, contrast it. The text is like a sextet for six voices. Each one of these voices at different moments are either a chorus or a duet or a solo. Each one of these guises are a character and with a subtly delineated journey and personality whether as Chorus or individual. This text has the same kind of interest as Andrew Bovell’s SPEAKING IN TONGUES. Add to this a beautiful command of language with poetic imagery of some potency. This is a theatre text of some quality. One needs to want to go to the theatre for reasons other than just entertainment. THE SEED; MEN LOVE AND THE MONKEYBOY; RUBEN GUTHERIE are conventional in almost every way along side this work. COLDER is brave and rewarding in ways that these other texts have not even begun to investigate. This production needs more time in rehearsal to allow the director and actors to be absolutely on top of this script musically. It is here that the actors need to concentrate because the form of the journey is relatively unique for most audiences, so that the audiences need to be coaxed onto the “moving train” and trained to listen before it can move into gear and speed off. (It is like what a company of actors must do when embarking on Act 1 Scene1 of a Shakespeare and most texts of heightened language and new form, the audience have to be “trained” to ATTEND in a way that is different from their usual experience.) The performance I saw was little jangly to start with but the admirable ensemble of the performers gradually found a harmony of rhythm and exchange. A sophisticated Sextet of a Music-Play began to reveal itself. I was deeply moved at the end by the experience and on so many levels of appreciation. Go. (Later in the Season Roland Schimmelpfennig’s ARABIAN NIGHT is to be presented and it will take you on a similar journey.) Wouldn’t Richard Wherret love to have had this text in his hands? I hope the major Companies around Australia have sent in a spy to give the play the possibility of a bigger exposure. Congratulations to the Writer, Director, Producing Company and the Actors. The Actors are admirable for their pursuit of an unselfish ensemble. It has one more week of performance. If you are a connoisseur of the theatre this is definitely worth your time. Posted by Pearly Productions at 4:58 PM Labels: Catherine Terracini, Colder, Diana McLean, Griffin Stablemates, Jamie Irvine, Katrina Douglas, Lachlan Philpott, Matt Walker, Megan O'Connell, Nathaniel Scotcher I was uninspired by Colder. I agree the writing had strength, interest and some beautiful images. However I felt it was let down by some of the acting. Matt Walker was wonderful with the kind of energy that is comforting and assured. He held his characters cards close to his chest, in a way that hints at a depth we will never touch (as opposed to 'mysterious' acting in which you know there is nothing behind it). Catherine Terracini (?) also possessed a beautiful presence onstage, with a well judged emotional range. In fact I found her own exploration of the heartbeats (bob-bom, bob-bom), the most moving moment of the piece. However I felt there were some great moments that were poorly handled by other cast members. I felt, in particular the two 'chorus' actors, lacked the skill of the others. These actors were required to possess the range to play multiple characters, and yet they felt like the actors with the least range in the piece. The faces pulled by these two were perhaps my least favourite moments of the piece. I wanted to be moved. The loss of innocence is a great tragedy that was handled with delicacy and care in the writing. However it required the same sensitivity by the whole ensemble to invite us on the journey. I disagree with anonymous. I've seen this play twice and both of the ensemble/chorus actors you refer to have stood out for me in different ways. Irvine is particularly effective early in the play, playing four or five characters in the space of fifteen or so minutes (A highlight being his earlier scene as Steve with Walker) and O'Connell shows great depth through the deteriation of her characters relationship with David. I think your point here is poorly argued anonymous. This is an ensemble piece and to single these two out(The Chorus)is unfair and petty. Both performances are memorable and key to the plays success. No mean feat for the Chorus. These actors, like so many in the independant theatre scene have worked for no actual pay. Realising the very complicated emotional and intellectual achitecture of this play would be tough enough on equity rates with full day rehearsals. Try scraping together enough money to pay the rent and rehearsing in your own time at night and then see how much criticism the actors in this play and many other deserve. They are after all the people who bring such exciting new writing to audiences since most mainstream companies are not yet brave enough to stage such work. My Name is Rachel Corrie Salome - In Cognito Volume 3 Back From Front	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line642
__label__wiki	0.616276	0.616276	Online since Friday, December 20, 2019 From Angina to Leptospirosis p. 135 Sandeep Seth, Shyamal K Goswami DOI:10.4103/jpcs.jpcs_65_19 Application of Bayesian Analysis in Medical Diagnosis p. 136 Vivek Verma, Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Rajiv Narang In this work, we outlined the application of the Bayesian technique for integrating the results of multiple tests while treating any disease. We provided an overview of the fundamental concept of Bayesian analysis in making an inference about a phenomenon using a concordance between available information and prior knowledge. An attempt is being made to demonstrate the applicability using core aspects, viz., nature of probability, parameters, and inferential procedure used to draw inference about the population characteristic under both paradigms. Here, we tried to sketch the underlying steps and assumptions regarding use of the Bayes theorem and the analytical techniques that can be used to analyze and interpret medical data while treating any disease. Cardiology update – Third quarter p. 142 Satyavir Yadav In continuation of previous updates this article contains some recent trials which includes CAPTURE study that showed benefits of carotid filter in stroke prevention,THEMIS study showed that in stable CAD patients ticagrelor plus aspirin had a lower incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events but a higher incidence of major bleeding than aspirin alone, AMBER study concluded that potassium binder patiromer enabled more patients to continue treatment with spironolactone with less hyperkalaemia. Acute Myocardial Infarction: Bedside Case Discussion p. 146 Bharath Raj Kidambi, Sai Krishna Reddy, Vijay Surampalli This is a bedside case discussion of a patient presenting with acute myocardial infarction. The symptoms and signs are discussed. The choices at each stage, the electrocardiogram (ECG), the angiogram, and the therapeutic findings are discussed in detail. The context with reference to India is also discussed. The differential diagnosis of the history of presentation is also discussed. ECG localization of myocardial infarction, management of acute coronary occlusion, and medical management of myocardial infarction are discussed. Platelet Blockage: Prasugrel versus Ticagrelor: Intracoronary Stenting and Antithrombotic Regimen: Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment 5 p. 154 Venkatakrishnan Ramakumar The Intracoronary Stenting and Antithrombotic Regimen: Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment 5 trial randomized patients with acute coronary syndrome for whom invasive treatment was planned to ticagrelor versus prasugrel. At 1-year, prasugrel was associated with a 2.4% absolute reduction in the primary outcome. The trial suggests that prasugrel may be superior to ticagrelor in reducing the thrombotic outcomes. It could be that once daily dosing with prasugrel and higher rate of drug discontinuation in the ticagrelor group may be the mechanism. Types of sampling in research p. 157 Pooja Bhardwaj Sampling is one of the most important factors which determines the accuracy of a study. This article review the sampling techniques used in research including Probability sampling techniques, which include simple random sampling, systematic random sampling and stratified random sampling and Non-probability sampling, which include quota sampling, self-selection sampling, convenience sampling, snowball sampling and purposive sampling. [ABSTRACT] [HTML Full text] [PDF] [Sword Plugin for Repository]Beta History of medicine – William heberden p. 164 Shivani Vashista Evaluation of Serum Vitamin D Level as a Prognostic Marker in the Clinical Manifestation of Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients p. 166 Hiren Anghan, Jayesh Prajapati, Iva Vipul Patel, Senthilraj Thangasami, Nikunj Patel Introduction: Epidemiologic studies have shown a strong association between Vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular risk factors, myocardial infarction, and all-cause cardiovascular mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical implications of serum Vitamin D levels in an unselected cohort of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients at the time of hospital admission. Methods: This was a prospective observational study which enrolled a total of 310 patients from December 2015 to March 2018. The consecutive in-hospital patients with ACS diagnosed by the typical history of angina, electrocardiography changes, with or without cardiac enzymes were included in the study. The primary endpoint of the study was all-cause death during hospitalization. The secondary endpoint was the in-hospital incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Results: The number of patients with diabetes and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in the Vitamin D-deficient group (46.7%, P = 0.04 and 45.4%, P = <0.001, respectively). The blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol were significantly higher in Vitamin D-deficient group (P = 0.045, 0.048, 0.013, and 0.024, respectively). There was no any relation of mortality and MACE between normal Vitamin D and Vitamin D deficiency patients. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were common in patients with the ACS. In the current study, ACS patients with diabetes and dyslipidemia were strongly associated with Vitamin D deficiency, but there was no correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and ACS outcomes. Impact on variation in the direction of cuff bladder on blood pressure readings p. 171 Bukar Alhaji Grema, Ismail Inuwa Mohammed, Godpower Chinedu Michael, Ibrahim Aliyu Introduction: Elevated blood pressure (BP)/hypertension contributes significantly to global morbidity and mortality. It is a silent killer; therefore, earlier diagnosis is imperative. A simple instrument called sphygmomanometer measures BP. Getting an accurate and precise reading is essential for making the diagnosis. Our study sorts to determine if there is any significant change in BP readings when the bladder cuff is inverted during BP measurement. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 540 individuals who were consecutively recruited from the outpatient clinics over a year period. BP was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer in three postures of sitting, standing, and supine comparing the standard protocol (control) and our designed protocol of inverted cuff (test). Results: The mean systolic and diastolic BP for all the postures for both sexes were significantly corresponding for both test positions in majority of the age groups; all observed differences in means were <5 mmHg which is within the acceptable limit. The Bland–Altman plot showed significant agreement for the control and test positions in diastole and systole in all the three postures. The mean of the differences of the control and test procedures were −0.38 ± 2.70, 0.27 ± 2.18 (diastole and systole in sitting); −0.46 ± 2.88, 0.09 ± 1.58 (diastole and systole in standing); −0.62 ± 3.14, 0.09 ± 1.82 (diastole and systole in supine). Conclusion: Our test procedure showed agreement with the standard protocol of cuff positioning. Therefore, it could be used interchangeably. The Satisfaction Levels of Heart Transplant Recipients Seeking Posttransplant Medical Care at a Tertiary Care Government Hospital: A Questionnaire-Based Study p. 178 Sarvesh Pal Singh, Manoj Kumar Sahu, Sandeep Seth, Milind Padmakar Hote Background: India is a country of approximately 1.35 billion people. Heart transplant surgery is resource intensive requiring extensive efforts both on the part of the patient and the treating physician. This study was designed to assess the satisfaction level of heart transplant recipients seeking post transplant medical care at our hospital. Methods: Twenty heart transplant recipients who are in our follow up participated in this study anonymously. The quality of medical care was evaluated by using Long Form Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III (RAND Healthcare, CA). Results: All the grouped items - general satisfaction (82.4%), technical competence (82.4%), interpersonal aspects (79.1%), communication (84%), financial aspects (76.7%), time spent with the doctor (84%) and access to care (77.3%) had similar satisfaction levels. The aspects of “communication” and “time spent with the doctor” had maximum satisfaction levels at 84%. Conclusion: The average satisfaction level of heart transplant recipients for the medical care they receive at AIIMS, New Delhi (as evaluated by the help of long form patient satisfaction questionnaire III) was 80%. Identifying the Prevalence of the Life-threatening Atrial Fibrillation Using a Smartphone-Based Wireless Electrocardiography Device: An Observational Study p. 186 Esha Dyundi, Prashant Gupta, Robin Choudhary Background: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common types of arrhythmia across the world. Yet, many cases remain undiagnosed making it difficult to estimate the exact prevalence of AF. Aims: This observational study was done to understand the feasibility of a hand-held electrocardiography (ECG) device – SanketLife – in detecting AF cases. Materials and Methods: In the study, ECG data collected from the device for a period of 2 months were evaluated to detect AF cases. The device took 12-lead and single-lead ECG recordings in various health-care settings including self-monitoring done by patients at their homes and in diagnostic laboratories using the device for screening as well as hospitals using the device in their outpatient departments. The reports were saved in SanketLife Cloud and evaluated anonymously by a certified ECG expert and the findings were further confirmed by a cardiologist to evaluate AF or any other findings in the ECG. Results: SanketLife effectively captured AF cases and demonstrated the feasibility of using such a device in any care setting being clinical or home monitoring. Conclusion: The study concluded that the device can be used for regular monitoring by patients suffering from chronic AF. In health-care settings ranging from primary care to tertiary care, the device can be beneficial. Prevalence and Determinants of Hyperuricemia in South Indian Adult Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease p. 191 Saklesh Patil, Govindan Vijayaraghavan, CC Kartha Background: There is paucity of studies on the prevalence of hyperuricemia in Indian patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Population differences have been observed in both the prevalence and relationship of hyperuricemia with CAD risk factors in previous studies. Objectives: Our study objectives were to analyze the prevalence and determinants of hyperuricemia in south Indian patients with stable and angiographic evidence of CAD. Methods: Study subjects were 520 patients with stable CAD. Severity of CAD was assessed by estimating the Gensini score. Patients in heart failure, those who had a recent myocardial infarction (< 7 days ), or liver disease or impaired renal function (GFR < 30ml/min), and those with hematological or oncological disorders were excluded from the study. Medical and dietitic history, clinical and laboratory data of patients were recorded. Hyperuricemia was diagnosed based on cut off values of ≥7mg/dl of serum uric acid in men and ≥ 6.5 mg/dl of serum uric acid in women. Results: Hyperuricemia was present in 242 patients (46.5%; 95% CI : 42.29-50.84%). A significant association (P < 0.001) was seen between hyperuricemia and consumption of a diet which could influence serum uric acid levels as well as history of regular alcohol consumption. There was no statistically significant association between hyperuricemia and intake of diuretics, presence of either diabetes or hypertension and serum cholesterol levels. Serum triglyceride levels were significantly more in those with hyperuricemia than in those with normal serum uric acid levels (P 0.03). There was no correlation between serum uric acid levels and presence or absence of urinary calculi. The mean Gensini score was 22.57 ± 9.99 in patients with hyperuricemia (n = 242) and the score was 9.42 ± 4.77 in those with normal serum uric acid levels (n = 278). This significant difference (P < 0.001) between the two groups indicate a more severe degree of severity of CAD in patients with hyperuricemia. Conclusion: Our study indicates a high prevalence of hyperuricemia in south Indian patients with stable CAD and that hyperuricemia is associated with severity of CAD, though it does not correlate with conventional risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels. Peripheral arterial disease in antiretroviral therapy naïve HIV infected patients – A single centre case control study from Eastern India p. 197 Dibbendhu Khanra, Anindya Mukherjee, Arunansu Talukdar, Anindya Mukherjee, SK Sinha Background and Objectives: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-induced endothelial dysfunction leads to premature atherosclerosis, which may manifest as peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower limbs. Studies are not available on the prevalence of PAD among antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV-infected population. The objective was to explore the prevalence of PAD among HIV seropositive cases and to determine the relation of PAD with HIV infectivity and with CD4 count. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based case-control study included 100 newly diagnosed HIV seropositive ART naïve cases (age 20–49 years) and 100 HIV seronegative frequency or group matched controls. Demographic, clinical and routine laboratory parameters, and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) were studied. PAD was diagnosed by Doppler study of lower limb arteries. Results: The prevalence of PAD was significantly more among HIV-infected cases (71%) in comparison to HIV-negative controls (P < 0.001). Abnormalities in ABI were present among 75% (53/71) of total PAD cases in our study. Among the cases of PAD, 53% (38/71) patients were asymptomatic. The mean CD4 count among the HIV-positive PAD cases was 220 cells/dl. HIV seropositivity was found to be significantly associated with the development of PAD. Male gender, concurrent tuberculosis, and low CD4 count came out to be individually associated with PAD among HIV seropositive cases in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: The prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic PAD was high among ART-naïve HIV-infected cases of relatively younger age group. Future studies should validate the Doppler findings suggestive of PAD among HIV seropositive patients with different inflammatory markers. Prospective studies on Doppler evaluation of endothelial dysfunction among asymptomatic HIV patients should be undertaken to establish or disprove the role of ART. Cor Triatriatum Sinister Presenting with Acute Myocardial Infarction p. 208 Dibbendhu Khanra, Shishir Soni, Ramlal Ola, Bhanu Duggal A case of Cor Triatriatum Sinister presenting with acute myocardial infarction is described. The patient underwemt a successful coronary angioplasty. Intercoronary fistula: Rarest of rare coronary anomaly p. 213 Sunil Nichaldas Gurmukhani, Nikita Chaturvedi, Nishit Saradava, Samkit Mutha, Sanjay Shah, Tejas Patel Coronary artery fistulas are rare but fascinating anomalies. It is defined as an abnormal direct vascular connection from coronary artery to a cardiac chamber or major central blood vessel without an intervening capillary bed. Among all coronary fistulas, intercoronary fistula without obstructive coronary artery disease is extremely rare. Such huge intercoronary fistula without any obstructive coronary artery disease is not described previously in literature to best of our knowledge. Clinical significance and future implications of these anomalies is unknown and subject of debate. Coronary Dissection or Pseudoaneurysm? An Ambiguity Resolved by Optical Coherence Tomography p. 215 Pradyot Tiwari, Tejas Patel, Sanjay Shah Coronary angiographic appearance of ambiguous-looking lesions can be deciphered by the use of optical coherence tomography. An apparent pseudoaneurysm on coronary angiography turned out to be a coronary dissection associated with aneurysm formation. Leptospirosis: A Diagnostic Challenge at Autopsy: Report of Two Cases p. 217 Sharada R Rane, Varsha Bhatia Leptospirosis is an important sporadic zoonotic disease. This disease is caused by the spirochete leptospira icterohemorrhagica. In India, leptospirosis has always remained a major health concern, particularly during monsoons. This disease mainly affects vital organs such as the lung, kidney, and heart. Acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute renal failure mainly contribute to the mortality in patients, but cardiac involvement leading to death still remains an underestimated critical clinical factor. We report here two autopsy cases and highlight histopathological changes in heart which helped us in diagnosing in correlation with other organ findings the final cause of death as leptospirosis. Navigating an Extremely Tortuous and Diseased Subclavian Artery: Use of an Altered Tiger Catheter p. 221 Pradyot Tiwari, Sanjay Shah, Tejas Patel Ego is the Enemy p. 223 Udbhav Seth Platypnea–Orthodeoxia syndrome: Revisiting the enigmatical hypoxemia! p. 225 Rohan Magoon, Neeti Makhija, Subhajit Sahoo, Devishree Das Professor SD Seth: A Tribute p. 227 Subir K Maulik © Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences \| Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow Online since 11th March,2015	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line644
__label__wiki	0.603442	0.603442	Tour Dates & Upcoming Events "NIGHTS IN TENTS" (Paperback) - NEW ITEM!!! Laura Love's poignant, yet hysterically funny memoir about her year of living in tents being flash banged, pepper sprayed, and arrested while traveling coast to coast with the Occupy Movement. IT'S A GAS!!!!! "NIGHTS IN TENTS" (eBook) - NEW ITEM!!! "SHE LOVED RED" CD Laura Love's much anticipated latest release, "She Loved Red" is a triumph over tragedy as well as an homage to her beloved sister, Lisa Winston. This guitar/vocal collaboration with stellar guitarist, Terry Hunt displays an emerging maturity and depth in her music, while exemplifying a lifelong dedication to the disenfranchised and downtrodden. "Negrass" https://members.cdbaby.com/Album/Review/lauralove# Experience Laura Love's Tour de Force, Bluegrass influenced Album with celebrated Nashville cats, Tim O'Brien, Scott Vestal, Mike Bubb, Rob Ickes and Tracy Nelson. This mixture of Laura's originals and traditional chestnuts is a string lover's delight. "The Sweeter The Juice" https://members.cdbaby.com/Album/Review/lauraloveandorvillejohnson Laura teams up with dobro master, Orville Johnson to showcase her original songs along with familiar favorites. Receive LL news, gigs, releases, etc. Listen to Laura Laura Love is an award winning "folk-funk" singer/songwriter/bassist who has been touring throughout the world since the early 1990s. Laura has released 11 CDs on major and minor labels, she has performed at nearly every great music festival in North America and Australia, she has composed commissioned music for dance and theater productions and is a published author. © 2020 Laura Love. All Rights Reserved. Powered by HostBaby.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line648
__label__cc	0.708335	0.291665	The creative class will rule the 21st century according to Richard Florida1. Creative class employees are innovative knowledge workers. If Florida is right, a massive power shift will make creative class employees the new leaders. What does it mean for creative class employees to show leadership? And, what does this imply for conventional leadership? Creative ideas are used to challenge the status quo, not to climb the ladder or to get work done through others. With little interest in managing people, creative class employees show leadership by promoting a better way Reframing the contribution of front-line innovators as leadership can better engage, motivate and retain them. If asking employees for suggestions gets them thinking, asking them to show some leadership can supercharge them. Messy Current Thinking About Leadership We unquestioningly view leadership as a role. In fact, executives are really managers. If creative thinking is the source of new directions, then leadership cannot be a role. Leadership that is not role-based is free-floating, occasional action. Here are some examples of leadership that is not role-based: The developer of Playstation led his bosses to accept this product when their image of Sony did not allow toys. Jack Welch’s ideas, such as being first or second in a market, had a leadership impact on businesses where he was neither a formal nor informal leader. A new customer service associate has a leadership impact on colleagues just by setting an example even if this person has no talent to be a team leader. Leadership also occurs between competitors. Apple has shown leadership to Microsoft, the music industry and now the cell phone business. These instances of leadership show the way for others either by promoting a new direction or by setting an example.. Martin Luther King, Jr. showed leadership by protesting against segregation on buses in Alabama. He had a leadership impact on the U.S. Supreme Court which succeeded when the Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses unconstitutional. His leadership on this issue had nothing to do with taking charge of a group to achieve a goal. His leadership, as a one-off act, ended once those with the authority bought his proposals. Leadership Confused Prior to the late 1970s, executives were managers. But the crisis of Japan's business success in the West led to a vicious attack on managers for being bureaucratic which led to their replacement by leaders. We had some ready-made language to separate leaders from managers. Where once we talked of management style as initiating structure versus showing consideration for people, being task oriented versus people oriented or theory X versus theory Y, we now granted all the good guy styles to leaders and saddled management with the bad guy styles. The next step was to portray leaders as transformational and managers as transactional. Who would want to be a manager after that? If leadership really does provide direction, but only as an occasional, then we can upgrade management to take responsibility for an organization's prosperity. With no reference to style, managers can be as considerate, nurturing, empowering and transformational as they need to be. Inspiring leadership moves us to change direction while inspiring managers move us to work harder or smarter. Leadership has always been based on power. Once it was the power to get to the top. Where innovation rules, it is the power to convince people to change direction with a better idea. It is hard to dominate a group for long with creative ideas because they shift too quickly from one person to another. With creative class leadership, ideas matter more than personality or style. Content really is king! We can buy an idea without joining the advocate’s club. The charismatic leader exemplifies the triumph of style over substance (content) while creative class leadership is the reverse: the triumph of content over style. The bottom line: When leadership is role-based, we look for types of persons suitable for such roles. When we switch to one-off acts of creative class leadership, the type of person promoting a new direction is of little consequence. It is all about content now. Leadership is commonly viewed as an influence process, but this is a myth for senior executives. They may influence their immediate teams to make an acquisition but it is then presented as a decision to the rest of the organization. So, either executives don't show leadership to the rest of the organization or leadership is not in fact an influence process in their case. Prospective political leaders influence the electorate to get elected but once in power we judge them to be effective as long as they make sound decisions. In short, conventional leadership is really about making sound decisions by those we entrust with this responsibility. What then becomes of our intuition that leadership really is an influence process? When Martin Luther King’s speeches led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule segregation on buses unconstitutional, he relied on pure influence. Leadership, like sales, is a form of influence. A key feature of selling is that it can be done on a one-off basis. Anyone can sell something once on eBay. This also shows that selling can occur at a distance. The leadership impact of Jack Welch on businesses around the world and of Martin Luther King on the population at large are also one-off impacts shown from a distance, not ongoing roles. Leading and selling are not identical; selling is self-interested, leadership is not. So, if leadership is genuinely a form of influence then there is no reason to limit it to role occupants. What Executives Do When Not Showing Leadership By virtue of their roles, executives are managers, where management is suitably upgraded to a supportive, facilitative and nurturing function. If leadership promotes a better way, then management executes existing directions. But management is not limited to keeping the status quo ticking over. It can manage complex tasks like putting the first man on the moon, even managing change. Once we free management from its theory X, controlling, task oriented connotations, it can be as empowering, nurturing and facilitative as it needs to be to get the best out of creative class knowledge workers. Leadership sell the tickets for the journey while management drives the bus to the destination. This means that leadership has nothing to do with managing people or getting things done through them. Chief executives show leadership by promoting a new vision. The difference is that executives are also managers charged with implementing their ideas through people. Managers need to be emotionally intelligent. For leadership, interpersonal skills are not essential in situations where compelling content can win people over2. Leadership viewed as challenging the status quo is based on youthful rebelliousness, the drive of young people to challenge authority and change the world. Such leadership can be shown by lone technical geeks with no desire or ability to be managers. What could be more empowering and engaging for the talent that businesses are so desperate to retain? Benefits of Leadership Reinvented for the Creative Class Wider sharing of ownership for determining new directions. Fuller empowerment and engagement of front-line employees. Employees striving to show leadership can mean more innovation. Executives learning to promote change to show leadership. Sharper executive focus with management upgraded. Implementing Leadership Reinvented for the Creative Class Reinventing leadership is urgent for businesses that depend on constant innovation. Helping employees achieve their full potential improves the return on such resources. The challenge for senior executives is to move from being goal scorers (promoting their own ideas) to being facilitators, thus drawing solutions out of others and encouraging leadership in them. The bottom line: Recognizing creative class employees as leaders is far more engaging than leaving them dependent on managers for leadership, something they are increasingly powerless to provide. This is not about giving creative class employees permission to show more leadership. The truth is that they are already the real source of leadership wherever innovation is essential for success. Reframing conventional leadership as facilitative is a failure to face reality, a head-in-the-sand tactic to maintain the myth of positional leadership. 1. The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida, Basic Books, 2002 2. "Why Emotional Intelligence is not essential for leadership," Mitch McCrimmon, Ivey Business Journal Online, Vol. 73, No. 1, Jan/Feb 2009. This article was first published in www.management-issues.com - December 3, 2009 Note: I sent a pdf copy to Richard Florida. He attached it to his website as a downloadable pdf. This does not mean that he endorses the article of course. Stephen Covey on Leadership It is hard to disagree with the principles that Stephen Covey describes in his book Principle Centered Leadership but... Kouzes & Posner on Leadership The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner is extremely popular but it originated in the 1980s when everyone... Why do large companies continually struggle to innovate and engage employees? One of the findings of a 2002 Gallop poll was... Why Emotional Intelligence Is Not Essential For Leadership Thanks to Daniel Goleman it is accepted wisdom that leaders must be emotionally intelligent to be effective. But this notion... As a manager you're in the spotlight. Who is watching to see if you will fly or flop? How's your confidence in this fishbowl? It's... A lot of people feel that leadership isn't a role but what does it mean exactly to reject this idea? Is there any sense to...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line650
__label__wiki	0.833506	0.833506	Our Audiences Spirit Of Recovery The Bonnie Tapes Creating Wellness I Love You Like Crazy Families Coping With Mental Illness Words That Bite Reach One Teach One Catching Up With The World Invisible Workforce Rental or purchase this video through our Video On Demand service. Purchase a DVD. Watch sample footage. "I love you like crazy" introduces eight courageous parents who have experienced mental illness while raising a family. Most of these parents have faced enormous obstacles from homelessness, addictions, legal difficulties and hospitalizations yet have maintained a positive and loving relationship with their children. The video introduces issues of work, fear, stigma, relationships with children and the rest of the family, with professionals, and with the community at large. What services do these parents need, especially when in crisis? Why do parents face so much stigma? What is the impact of stigma on parents and their children? Parents who have mental illness risk losing their children. What could be done to provide the needed support and legal advice? Many of the mothers and fathers featured in this program had previously met in a peer support group, where they offered support to each other and shared their common concerns about accessing needed services. They hope that their stories will reduce stigma and help people realize that individuals with mental illness can be loving, competent parents. Production of "I love you like crazy" was supported in part by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. "I love you like crazy is a wonderful and wonderfully useful and inspiring video. It provides insight, comfort, and reassurance, offering a fresh and welcome portrait of struggles and triumphs, too often hidden from us all." Jay Neugeboren, Author Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness ©2017 MENTAL HEALTH MEDIA Creative Bridges Towards Recovery	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line652
__label__wiki	0.552037	0.552037	Home > Latest Market News > Project Focus: Principal Garden by UOL Group... News: Project Focus: Principal Garden by UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company (This is a special feature by UOL Group). The recently completed private condominium development Principal Garden has clearly struck a chord with buyers and industry experts alike since its completion last year. The large-scale residential development, which spans four 24-storey towers, is one of the latest luxury products to hit the market from the joint venture between UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company. Housing 663 units in total, the design of this project places uninterrupted landscaping and recreational facilities at the heart of the property — an unusual move for a project in such a prime location. Residents enjoy unobstructed panoramic views of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and surrounding green areas sparsely dotted with low-rise bungalows, and of the city, whilst maximising unbuilt open space, a rarity in the urban density of Singapore. Situated on the cusp of Singapore’s leafy embassy district that comprises Bishopsgate, Alexandra and Chatsworth Park, the 268,716-square-foot development is close to a series of big-name malls, boutique stores, eateries and entertainment outlets in nearby Tiong Bahru, while the UNESCO World Heritage Botanic Gardens is just a five-minute drive away. Winner of Best Completed Private Condo Development at PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Singapore) 2019 One of the factors that sets Principal Garden apart is the rich array of onsite amenities that caters to various segments, from families to first-time home buyers and professional couples. Fitness facilities including a gym, tennis court, and aerobics and fitness deck are provided in addition to communal bicycle facilities and multiple swimming pools that encourage healthy living. For those looking to add some pizzazz to their get-togethers, Principal Garden features dining rooms with attached kitchenettes, BBQ decks and an entertainment suite. There’s even a wine cellar with lounge, plus a music room, reading room, and kids’ play area to ensure residents of all ages are catered for. What is most noticeable about the development, however, is the amount of space dedicated to nature. As part of the project’s “80-20 garden living” concept, only one-fifth of the entire site is taken up by buildings. The rest is dedicated to gardens and shared green areas which give the property its name. This feature particularly resonated with the judging panel at this year’s PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Singapore) 2019. “Principal Garden by UOL Group and Kheng Leong Company comprises a well-integrated landscape of gardens, pools, and lawns with artworks, creative and generous amenities and four towers situated to capture the best views,” they noted. “It’s an impressive development within such a strongly urban setting.” Unit types at Principal Garden range from spacious one-bedroom residences to exclusive five-bedroom properties. Moreover, each building is rotated approximately 20 degrees along the east-west axis to maximise the number of units facing north and northeast, providing impressive panoramas from most of the residences. About UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company have successfully partnered on many residential projects including a series of high-end residential developments in Singapore. Meyer House and Avenue South Residence follow the recently completed Principal Garden. All three projects received multiple accolades at the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Singapore) 2019. UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company are in fact no strangers to success at the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards. Beating competition from around the region, UOL was named Best Developer (South East Asia) back in 2011, while the landmark Nassim Park Residences jointly developed by UOL Group Limited and Kheng Leong Company picked up Best Condo Development (South East Asia) at the same event. The joint venture took home a total of six awards at this year’s event. See all Principal Garden for sale on PropertyGuru here.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line657
__label__cc	0.587732	0.412268	QUEENSRYCHE, Archer Nation @Robin 2, Bilston 26/8/16 Metal legends in great condition At MVM we like trio’s. We like thrash metal too – and to be even more specific we really like Megadeth. On that front then, Megadeth obsessed trio Archer Nation can’t really lose. Indeed, they aren’t even hiding their adoration for Dave Mustaine’s men. One of their number – singer/guitarist Dylan Rose – even sports the t-shirt as well as sounding rather like king of the sneer. Thing is, they do it rather well and given they are young and full of chutzpah they intersperse things with a kind of early Motley Crue sheen too. AN might be here for a good time, but they are up against a partisan crowd, however sheer energy wins through and songs like “The Day That Never Came” are enjoyable, fists in the air affairs. They even find time for a cover – Megadeth naturally – but “Tornado Of Souls” strays from the obvious and is superb. The sound might be familiar, but the arrow here is often on target. With his dark glasses and leather trousers Todd La Torre looks every inch a rock star. The second he opens his mouth, he proves it. There’s a reason that the Seattle heavy metallers decided to use him as Geoff Tate’s replacement, and its simply this: he’s magnificent. It’s been a few years since MV saw the band – a real lacklustre display with Judas Priest as Tate was off his game. The difference in them tonight is palpable. This is a band that crackles with energy, fair old fizzes with excitement and is proving just how good they can be. One of the reasons for that is last year they stuck out a record in “Condition Human” that saw them come close to reclaiming former glories. They start tonight’s career-spanning set (it packs in songs from eight albums in its roller coaster 75 minutes) with “Guardian”, a track from it and throughout, it is a well-paced and well thought out affair. It is soon into the classics and “Operation: Mindcrime” and “Best I Can” sound mighty, as do the still huge ballad “Silent Lucidity” and the even better “Empire” which follows in a kind of 1990s 1-2 punch. But its more than that. There’s a moment in “Eye9” another new track, Michael Wilton grins to himself, and almost at that moment you realise with him that even if you stripped away the history and all the back catalogue, then what you’ve actually got is just a magnificent grown-up heavy metal band. And for Wilton and his fellow founding members, Scott Rockerfeld and Eddie Jackson, that must mean everything right now. The set hurtles to a close with “Jet City Woman” and “Take Hold Of The Flame” and the encore keeps it old-school too, with “Screaming In Digital” and a wonderful “Eyes Of A Stranger”. As he exits the stage after the latter, La Toure shouts: “We are the original and only Queenscryche”. A clear dig at Tate and his “other” version, the singer says it in a way that suggests he doesn’t want to be argued with – on this evidence, however, you wouldn’t dream of doing so. A band reborn and revitalised. Previous articleHorse Trials Next articleFeatured Band: The Dreamer Within	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line658
__label__cc	0.612282	0.387718	Board index MediaMonkey 4 for Windows Need Help? (mmw) how to browse by album from Music Explorer w/o artis Expand view Topic review: how to browse by album from Music Explorer w/o artis Re: how to browse by album from Music Explorer w/o artis Quote equalizer by equalizer » Mon May 25, 2009 8:57 am Actually even easier than I thought, turns out most of my multi-artist albums were fortunately already filling out the Artist field, just needed to blank the Album Artist to "Various Artists" across the board! Thanks again! Ah I see, I didn't see that Album Artist is separate from Artist, silly me! That explains it all then! I'll just cut the values from Album Artist to Artist field then, so as to preserve the data but also fix the album grouping behavior, sweet! by Lowlander » Sun May 24, 2009 10:58 am The Artist field is used for the tracks artists. The Album Artist field is used for the albums artist. All nodes (Artist, Album Artist and Artist + Album Artist) will sort the Album together if the Album Artist value is the same for all tracks on the album. The build in nodes behavior can't be modified, but Magic Nodes or My Custom Nodes can be programmed by the user. by equalizer » Sun May 24, 2009 12:14 am This last one seems like what I was looking for - but is there another data field where I can still store the actual artist, without it affecting the sorting of tracks into albums? Ideally I wouldn't want to lose that data completely. Again, it would seem like only the Album By Artist node should be splitting the album according to the range of artists, but I guess this basic functioning of the Album node is hard-coded (unless I were to try the Magic Node suggestion). equalizer wrote: I can't seem to figure out how to browse albums in the left - I want to see just the album names, not broken down by Album Name (Artist Name). The latter is causing multi-artist compilation albums (i.e., much of electronic music) to span twenty lines, when it should all be one line (and all the songs do have the correct, single, same album name in their metadata). This can be easily fixed. For MediaMonkey to consider tracks to belong to the same Album you also need to set the Album Artist value to the same for all tracks on the Album. In the case of a compilation album this would commonly be Various, VA or Various Artists. You can use the Files to Edit > Multiple Artist Albums to identify albums that need this fix. [quote="equalizer"]I can't seem to figure out how to browse albums in the left - I want to see just the album names, not broken down by Album Name (Artist Name). The latter is causing multi-artist compilation albums (i.e., much of electronic music) to span twenty lines, when it should all be one line (and all the songs do have the correct, single, same album name in their metadata).[/quote] Quote onenonymous by onenonymous » Sat May 23, 2009 5:47 pm check out MagicNodes - it can create the node you're looking for. by equalizer » Sat May 23, 2009 5:32 pm So is there no way to make the list of albums in the tree node match the list in the track browser selection pane? I don't get why the tree node defaults to showing albums segregated by artist, with no option to make it not like that? The track browser is an acceptable solution I guess, just would be nicer to be able to browse the albums to the left (and not be broken down by artist). I would have thought the album-artist node would show what album does, actually! Quote Eyal by Eyal » Sat May 23, 2009 4:15 pm You can use Track Browser (menu: View\|Show Track browser). First select Library->Album node in the treeview. In Track Browser, right-click first column header and select Album. Choose whatever fields you want in other two columns. I can't seem to figure out how to browse albums in the left - I want to see just the album names, not broken down by Album Name (Artist Name). The latter is causing multi-artist compilation albums (i.e., much of electronic music) to span twenty lines, when it should all be one line (and all the songs do have the correct, single, same album name in their metadata). I tried searching here for an answer for 15 minutes and couldn't seem to find the solution.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line659
__label__wiki	0.627488	0.627488	Commission Decision of 10 December 2007 amending Decisions 2006/687/EC, 2006/875/EC and 2006/876/EC as regards the reallocation of the Community’s financial contribution to certain Member States for their programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases and for checks aimed at the prevention of zoonoses for 2007 (notified under document number C(2007) 5985) (2007/851/EC) Decisions originating from the EU 2007 No. 851 What Version Latest available (Revised) Original (As adopted by EU) Opening Options Open whole Decision Open Decision without Annexes Open Annexes only EU Official Journal Version This is a Decision originating from the EU See the EU version of this legislation on EUR-Lex See an archived version from EUR-Lex in the web archive This is a legislation item that originated from the EU After exit day there will be three versions of this legislation to consult for different purposes. The legislation.gov.uk version is the version that applies in the UK. The EU Version currently on EUR-lex is the version that currently applies in the EU i.e you may need this if you operate a business in the EU. The web archive version is the official version of this legislation item as it stood on exit day before being published to legislation.gov.uk and any subsequent UK changes and effects applied. The web archive also captured associated case law and other language formats from EUR-Lex. This is the original version (as it was originally adopted). Introductory Text Article 1.Annexes I to V to Decision 2006/687/EC are amended in... Article 2.Decision 2006/875/EC is amended as follows: Article 1 is amended... Article 3.Decision 2006/876/EC is amended as follows: Article 1(2) is amended... Article 4.This Decision is addressed to the Member States. Annexes I to V to Decision 2006/687/EC are replaced by... ANNEX I List of programmes for the eradication and monitoring... PrintTable of Contents PDF table of contents Web pagetable of contents PrintThe Whole Decision PDF The Whole Decision Web page The Whole Decision Legislation is available in different versions: Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text. Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the EU Official Journal Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include: the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the print copy Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line661
__label__cc	0.664947	0.335053	Austin's Park & Pizza: Please arrive by 8:30 a.m. includes unlimited buffet and attractions (go karts, bumper boats, mini golf, rock wall, laser tag) Comes with the option of a $15 game card you can use on any video or token games OR 2 hours of non-token video game play. 7:30 - 8:30 Parent Drop Off 8:30 - 9:00 Games/Open Gym 9:00 - 9:30 Get ready for Field Trip 9:30 - 3:30 Field Trip 3:30 - 4:00 Snack 4:00 - 5:00 Gymnastics 5:00 - 6:30 Outdoor Play / Arts & Crafts / Open Gym / Parent Pick Up Tuesday, March 19th Gatti Town: Please arrive by 10 a.m. included a $10 game card and pizza buffet - you may give your child extra money for their game card. 8:30 - 10:00 Games / Open Gym 10:00 - 10:35 Get ready for Field Trip 10:30 - 3:30 Field Trip / Lunch Dave and Buster's: Please arrive by 9:30 a.m. Includes Lunch and a $20 game card (also includes unlimited non-token games) - you may give your child extra money for their game card. 8:30 - 9:30 Games / Open Gym 9:30 - 10:00 Get ready for Field Trip Thursday, March 21st Main Event: Please arrive by 9:30 a.m. Includes $10 game card, pizza and a medium drink, laser tag, put-put golf, bowling. Friday, March 22nd Wonder World: Please arrive by 8:30 a.m. Bring a snack lunch. 9:00 - 3:00 Field Trip / Lunch March 18th - 22nd Ages: 5 - 12 years old SPRING BREAK CAMP FORM Deadline to sign up is March 13th. There will be a $10 late fee charge for signing up after the 13th.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line668
__label__cc	0.514332	0.485668	Week commencing 29th March 2013 Mid Staffs scandal: Blame staff cuts Not nurses by Daphne Liddle HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt last week delivered his response to the Francis Inquiry into the reasons for the shocking failings at the Mid Staff NHS Trust by focussing on the failings of nurses and managers rather than the shortages of staff due to budgetary cuts and the culture of putting targets above patient welfare. He proposed making student nurses spend a year working as nursing assistants on the wards before beginning the academic part of their training. This will not necessarily make a lot of difference as student nurses already have to spend 50 per cent of their training time on hospital wards. And there is no nurse in the world who can give adequate care, compassion and attendance to up to 30 patients at once, all needing help with eating, toileting, medication and someone to talk to. Hunt did admit that the response to the Francis Inquiry will require the recruitment of a lot more nurses but did not say how this would be funded. He did threaten to “blacklist” managers who fail to meet adequate standard on the wards so they could not simply go from one disaster and immediately find another job in the NHS. But he did not promise any help for managers in stretching inadequate budgets and a system where usurious PFI fat cats must be paid before nurses and doctors. Nor did he say the Government would drop the £20 billion in savings currently being imposed on the NHS. He promised to create a Commissioner of Health to inspect hospitals equivalent to the education watchdog Ofsted, which would have the power to order improvements or even put a hospital into administration. This of course would be a swift road to privatisation as one foundation trust after another would fail at the impossible task of balancing the books. Hunt, along with Cameron, Osborne and the rest of the crew could claim this proves the NHS is economically not viable and throw all health care over to market forces. The inspection system that actually worked — the Community Health Councils, which the Francis Report acknowledged would have spotted the problems at the Mid Staffs long before the Government did, and would have had the power to insist on changes — failed to get a mention from Hunt. Health service unions were critical of Hunt’s proposals. Unite head of health Rachael Maskell said: “Jeremy Hunt’s continual failure to understand how the NHS works and the drivers needed to change the culture of the NHS is reflected in his announcement today. “He has presented no evidence as to how putting nurses in training — just one profession in the NHS — into the healthcare assistant role will change the culture in the NHS. Healthcare assistants need to be recognised as a profession in their own right and regulated accordingly. “There are issues of training, supervision and resources that need to be addressed if student nurses are going to spend more time on the frontline. “The serious issues of creating an enabling culture to help NHS staff reach their potential was not addressed either by Hunt. “He has also ignored the central thrust of the Francis report to enable patients and staff to whistle-blow, without repercussions, and to guarantee that their concerns will be investigated and appropriate change enforced.” Christina McAnea, Unison head of health, said: “It is only right that the lessons of Mid Staff are learned, for all the patients who died and for their relatives. “Nurses and other healthcare staff are crying out for safe staffing levels and for wards to have the right skills mix. Patients are suffering because this is not happening — the Government has to start listening to health workers who have repeatedly raised these concerns. “Instead of giving nurses their backing, the government is constantly running them down. It must be recognised that day in day out the NHS and its staff deliver excellent care in hospitals across the country.” The union called for full registration of healthcare assistants, not just minimum standards of training and warned that without adequate funding, this would fail. [ Another crash coming ] [ Don’t equate immigrants with freeloaders ] [Previous week’s New Worker] [New Communist Party home page]	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line674
__label__wiki	0.95341	0.95341	Home Eritrea News Sports Video Yemane Haileselassie [Video] Eritrea’s Yemane Haileselassie found an extra gear late on to claim silver [Video] Eritrea’s Yemane Haileselassie found an extra gear late on to claim silver Admin 10:04 AM Eritrea, News, Sports, Video, Yemane Haileselassie By Bob Ramsak \| IAAF Amos Kirui kept Kenya’s perfect U20 World Championships streak in the 3000m Steeplechase alive for the 15th* consecutive edition, but his victory didn’t come until after one of the week’s most ferociously entertaining contests on the track. As expected, he and teammate Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, the reigning world U18 champion, controlled the pace for most of the race, taking turns with the lead for the first two kilometres, Kirui bringing the field through the first 1000 metres in 2:51.39 and Ruto through 2000 metres in 5:35.00. With three laps remaining, was essentially a four-man race for the medals, with Ethiopian Getnet Wale and Eritrean Yemane Haileselassie joining the Kenyan pair in the hunt. Shadowing the pair closest, Wale looked to be in strong position to make his move over the final lap – until he reached the water jump on the penultimate lap. Coming off the barrier, he slipped and tumbled as he tried to leave the water pit, seemingly tripping his way out of contention. While he recovered, Haileselassie moved past him and into third, off on a solo chase of the Kenyan duo. But Wale wasn’t finished. He quickly made up ground, fighting his way back into contact with the leaders as they approached the last bend for the final time. Momentum appeared to be on his side as they approached the water jump where Wale, just about the pass Ruto, fell once again in nearly the identical spot. At this point Kirui pulled away unchallenged to win in 8:20.43, with Haileselassie and Ruto giving chase. But some 25 metres from the finish, the pursuers for the minor medals found themselves yet again joined by Wale. In a rough and tumble battle at the line, Haileselassie got the upper hand for silver with Wale, diving across the line in front of Ruto to take the bronze. Haileselassie clocked 8:22.67 and Wale a personal best 8:22.83, a scant 0.01 ahead of Ruto. “It was a stunning victory,” said Kirui, whose previous best was 8:37.4. “I wanted to fight for the championships record. Now I want to focus on fighting for a place in the Diamond League.” Haileselassie, who was the fastest U20 runner in the Bydgoszcz field at 3:22.52, was also pleased. “I expected to fight for a medal here,” the 18-year-old said. “It was a close finish, but I know I should never give up.” Neither did Wale, but he paid for his efforts. For several minutes after he dove across the line, he barely moved. Eventually he was roused, lifted from the track and driven away on a stretcher. He missed the medal ceremony while he was attended to by medics, but was not transported to a hospital. Further back Yohanes Chiappinelli was fifth in 8:32.66, a national U20 record for Italy. * Men contested the 2000m steeplechase at the first IAAF World Junior Championships; the steeplechase at all subsequent editions was contested over 3000m. [Video] Eritrea’s Yemane Haileselassie found an extra gear late on to claim silver Reviewed by Admin on 10:04 AM Rating: 5 Eritrea News Sports Video Yemane Haileselassie Yemane Haileselassie	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line685
__label__wiki	0.719694	0.719694	Channing Tatum May Lead GHOSTBUSTERS Follow-Up Joe and Anthony Russo to produce and possibly direct… Unless you have been living under a rock, you already know that an all-female reboot of the ‘Ghostbusters’ franchise is on the way with Paul Feig directing and Kristen Wiig. Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon attached to star. Well, it appears that the suits at Sony are looking to broaden out the property, with the always-reliable Mike Fleming over at Deadline hearing that a second ‘Ghostbusters’ film starring Channing Tatum is also in the works. Original ‘Ghostbusters’ architects Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd have teamed up with the studio to form Ghostcorps, a new production company with the aim of branching out the supernatural comedy property into multiple films, TV shows, and merchandise. The first project on the cards for the newly-minted shingle is an action-centric comedy with Tatum starring and Joe and Anthony Russo (‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’) behind the camera. ‘Mission: Impossible 5’ and ‘Iron Man 3’ scribe Drew Pearce will provide the script. In addition to starring, Tatum will produce the film with his partners Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan, and the Russos. According to reports, the studio is looking get Tatum’s good friend, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star Chris Pratt, on board, with the film following the Feig-directed reboot. The two spectre-capturing teams will then reportedly come together for a third film, Avengers-style. “This is a branded entertainment, a scary supernatural premise mixed with comedy. Paul Feig’s film will be the first version of that, shooting in June to come out in July, 2016,” Reitman told Deadline. “He’s got four of the funniest women in the world, and there will be other surprises to come. The second film has a wonderful idea that builds on that. Drew will start writing and the hope is to be ready for the Russo Brothers’ next window next summer to shoot, with the movie coming out the following hear. It’s just the beginning of what I hope will be a lot of wonderful movies.” “My primary focus will be to build the Ghostbusters into the universe it always promised it might become. The original film is beloved, as is the cast, and we hope to create films we will continue to love.” ActionAdventureAnthony RussoChanning TatumDramaFantasyJoe RussoKate McKinnonKristen Wiig.Melissa McCarthyLeslie JonesScience Fiction WANT MORE? CHECK OUT THESE ARTICLES Trailer: Ryan Reynolds Leads Video Game-Based Action Comedy FREE GUY Channing Tatum & IT Producer to Adapt Sam Kieth’s THE MAXX Jack Reynor Joins Tom Holland in Russo Brothers’ CHERRY New Trailer for FOX News movie BOMBSHELL starring Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron & Nicole Kidman 3.0Achieves flight 4.0Agreeable confection 5.0Modern masterpiece	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line693
__label__cc	0.695494	0.304506	Murrayfield Racers to host Teddy Bear Toss Murrayfield Racers have teamed up with local charity Helping Hands to organise a Teddy Bear Toss for our home game against Kirkcaldy Kestrels on Sunday, 9th December. Fans of both teams are encouraged to bring a new teddy bear to the game in a clear sealed bag and when the first goal is scored to... Racers Christmas Cracker Offer! It’s never too early to talk Christmas! And with 6 home games this December your Murrayfield Racers want to spread the Christmas spirit by offering fans the chance to benefit from our Christmas Cracker Ticket Offer. This ticket will give fans admission to all 6 homes games in December for £50 – that’s £10 cheaper... Rink Access vs Telford Tigers As fans may be aware, the Scottish League Cup semi-final between Celtic and Hearts will take place on Sunday at Murrayfield Stadium with a 1.30 kickoff. If the game concludes within 90 minutes there should be no impact on accessing the ice rink for our 6pm face-off, however if the game goes into extra time, and... Billingham Stars Away Trip Transport On Sunday September 9th, your Murrayfield Racers travel down south to Billingham for their first NIHL North Cup game against the Billingham Stars! In partnership with our official travel partner E&M Horburgh, you can travel down to show your support for the team and visit a classic British rink in the process. If you are...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line695
__label__wiki	0.715723	0.715723	Liszt Petrarca Sonnets complete – Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide An ambitious new series focusing on the songs of Franz Liszt, starting with all three versions of the Tre Sonetti del Petrarca, (Petrarca Sonnets), S.270a, S.270b and S.161 with Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide for Avi-music.de. Since no complete edition of the Liszt songs exists apart from the Alexander edition for Breitkopf and Härtel in 1919-21, this may be more than an ordinary completist series. There could be as many as 145 variants, with questions of classification, since Liszt did not not assign opus numbers. This recording seeks to highlight the connections between Liszt’s three settings of Petrarch’s Sonnets 47, 104 and 123. Recorded in the Marküs -Sittikus Saal in Hohenems, these are performances of great sensitivity, as we’d expect from Schuen, and Heide. Andrè Schuen is easily one of the more promising young baritones around, and one whose genuine love for repertoire leads him to in-depth performances of more eclectic material. He recorded an outstanding Frank Martin Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann as well as Schumann, Beethoven and Wanderer, an excellent collection of Schubert Lieder. At the Wigmore Hall on Saturday 23rd November, Schuen and Heide are giving a recital of Schubert and Mahler (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and the Rückert Lieder). Liszt’s first settings of the Petrarch sonnets date from 1842-6 while the second settings were completed between 1864-1882. Composed decades apart, these are far more than simple “variations” but thoroughly thought-through new works, showing the evolution of Liszt’s approach though time. The order of songs is also transposed. In the first Sonetto 104, (Pace non trovo) is declamatory, each verse clearly separated by a piano interlude. The line “equalamente mi spiace morte et vita” rises with operatic flourish, before a hushed ending, marked by two assertive chords on the piano for emphasis. The second Sonetto 104, better reflects the brief phrases in the poem, which flow in succession, building up tension towards the line “né mi vuol vivo, né mi trae impaccio” expressing the poet’s frustration. The line “in questa stato son, donna, por voi” is all the more moving because it expresses love, tenderly complemented by a gentle piano postlude. In the first Sonetto 47 (Benedetto sia ‘l giorno), the mood is gentler, suggesting the purity of the beloved. Elaboration is focused on the third strophe “Benedette le voci tante” where phrases are repeated, adding lustre to the name “Laura”, which Schuen projects with glowing awe. The second setting of this sonetto is even more sensitive, Liszt’s attention even better attuned to the scansion of Petrarch’s flowing phrases, “‘l giorno, e ‘l mese, e l’anno, e la stagione, e ‘l tempo, e l’ora, e ‘l punto”, which are all connected, since they underline the meaning of the poem. Schuen’s perfect diction underlines the melodious nature of the text. Only in the line “E le piaghe, ch’infino al cor mi vanno” is there a hint of the pain the poet is going through. With such subtlety, Liszt has no need to decorate the third strophe: its impact comes from the sincere, direct expression of emotion. This makes the final strophe even more moving, as it gradually decelarates into quietude. For the poet, nothing matters but the beloved: “Ch’ è sol di lei” sings Schuen with deep feeling, “si ch’altra non v’ha parte”. As the song subsides, the word “benedette” is intoned, like a prayer. An extended piano prelude introduces the first setting of Sonetto 123 (I’ vidi in terra), the genly rocking melody taken up in the vocal line. The beloved is now a memory, “par sogni, ombre e fume”. Though there are differences in the two settings for voice and piano, the focus is now on the poet, alone. For Liszt as composer, such personal expression would have favoured the piano. Given that the versions for solo piano from Années de Pélerinage, Année II (Italie) S 161 no. 4 to 6 were written shortly after the first settings of the songs for voice and piano, S 270a, it is natural that the resemblances are strong. The popularity of the pieces for piano thus derives from the emotional power inherent in the songs, even shorn of text. Hearing all three sets together enhances understanding of their context and the role they play in the development of Liszt’s oeuvre. Paradoxically, this also means a greater appreciation of the later set, known as S 270b, but much more mature, subtle and sophisticated than mere variation. Appositely, Schuen and Heide conclude this first volume in the Liszt Lieder series with Liszt’s setting of Victor Hugo, Oh! Quand je dors, S 282, here in the second version, completed in 1859. Many of Liszt’s songs are standard repertoire, but the time has come for a re-evaluation of all the songs, in context. Recently, Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Raës presented Liszt Lieder together with his Mélodies in the French style, demonstrating how original Liszt was, a composer “beyond boundaries”, so to speak. Please read more about that here. Essential listening for all. Anne Ozorio	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line699
__label__cc	0.707336	0.292664	Only 7 Spots Left Nepal , 6 Days India and Nepal: Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and Kathmandu Photo Tour 4,950 US$25 Nov 2020 A special, deep 10 days India & Varanasi Photo Tour and a 6 days optional extension to Nepal for photographers of all levels. With an intensive stay in Varanasi and the Kathmandu Valley. The India portion will include a photographic immersion in Haridwar, Rishikesh and a few days in Varanasi. When in Nepal we will be in Kathmandu Varanasi is the city that represents all the spiritual and boiling India. This is where I took in 2012 the picture that got the World National Geographic first in the "places" category and later was disqualified, (see post) . We will get to know a different Varanasi to the one other tourists see. With time to enjoy our stay in contrast to the hustle and bustle of Shamans, boatmen, pilgrims, cows, tourists, barbers, and fake Sadhus. We will cross to the other side of the river where no one normally goes, to admire the city from another perspective and witness the daily coming and going of pilgrims. We will stroll though the back streets of the ghats, the alleys, and discover temples outside the normal tourist route. We will meet people there, and wait for the certainty of the unexpected to happen. Please visit my this link that should give you a good understanding of what makes my India so Special My India Please visit my personal work on Varanasi as well as some posts on my Varanasi at dawn . This is where I took in 2012 the picture that won and later lost the National Geographic Photo World Contest. Here a few from Kathmandu. Have a look at the Video •The enjoyement of photography with intensity accompanied by a professional travel photographer who understands the secrets of Varanasi and Kathmandu. The hidden locations. •Organised set photo sessions, special locations, discoveries. I am photographing India and Nepal at least three times each year since more than twelve years... •Our daily life in Benares, staying beside the Ganges, in contact with the people of our Gaht: pilgrims, barbers, flower salesmen, boatmen, Holy Men and the occasional tourist. •We will cross to the other side of the Ganges, rarely visited by anyone •Enjoy a photographic coverage of the old city, the temples, and witness the vicissitudes of Varanasi and Kathmandu. •The Gath’s, some hidden temples, the religious life on the Ganges. •The early morning and evening ceremonies next to the river. •Strolls along the streets of the city, the photographic corners observing the cultural diversity of the different ethnical groups. •Dusk in Kathmandu, Bodnath amazed by the sight of dozens of the faithful praying while they walk in concentric circles around the sacred Stupa illuminated by candlelight. •Our stay in a different Bakhtapur, enjoying the life of the people and the city at very special locations. •Our discovery of the Budhist monasteries in a different Kathmandu, enjoying the life of the people and the city at very special locations. This Photo Tour will be about offering the maximum photographic opportunities and inspired on the approach of a a Photographic Workshop. Not academic but possibly as intense. We will conduct a few photographic reviews and discussions, but it will be mostly about experiencing a personal contact with people. A laptop and processing software (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc..) is highly recommended. Our days will be really busy reaching the Ghats to photograph, amongst remains of wreaths and cremation ashes, Brahmins offering ritual shaving, dressed bathing women. Bearded, hirsute Holy Men, bare feet, watching stunned families bathing dressed in bright Indian saris. Groups of pilgrims down the huge wooden barges. Then the calm of our hotel, close to the Ganges, attending dinner before the night ceremony. In the calm of "our" Ganges. We will go down the sacred river in our boat and visit an “akhara”, a gymnasium where Kursty fighters train and compete. If we are lucky we will be able to make a photo coverage of their workouts. How to approach the subject, the preparation, the photographic vision, analysis of the situation. We will have the chance to shoot spontaneous and also formal portraits with proper preparation. We will be concerned, above all, with the “making off” itself: a mix of practical and theoretical knowledge and practical advice in order to attain a better understanding on what draws the eye and how to enhance the element that attires our attention allowing us to converse on a daily basis about technical problems, doubts or personal matters as they arise. Deciding the story Set a script of what we want to show and decide which are the important images that will support the story. Learn how to train the vision and express it through a personal style. Most often this is what differentiates a photographer from another. Some days later we fly to the World Heritage site of the Valley of Kathmandu where an ethnic, cultural and architectural variety will be seen which is unique for photography. In Nepal, we will stay overnight not in Kathmandu itself but in Bakhtapur an extraordinary, quiet and calm zone of the city and will enjoy sunset and sunrise in the best photographic locations possible, taking advantage of the special light. We will witness the prayers of the faithful, and appreciate the city and its fascinating streets. A place of monuments without precedents and the unique amalgam of Hinduism, Buddhism and Tantrism that marks the rich religious and cultural inheritance of the city. From there we will visit the valley, the temples. The place where the Sadhus sleep before their daily activity. We will see the Himalayas and meet in our daily wanderings the Sherpa, Chettris and Newaris tribes, as well as the Rais, Limbus, Tamangs and Magars. Bakhtapur belongs to the UNESCO Universal Heritage, and most of the city is pedestrian. We will reach Bodnath, the centre of Tibetan culture in Kathmandu, which has a thriving Buddhist community and the largest stupa in Nepal, the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. We will be at dusk and dawn in the best photographic location and will take advantage the best light, the moments in which the faithful conduct their prayers while we make close contact with people, and the great intimacy of the ceremonies, the city and its fascinating streets . On the mornings we will usually start at dawn in order to be at the place when the first prayers begin. It will nearly be night photography, with candle lights. On the afternoon, again depending on the day, we will explore hidden places of the old city before dinner. Depending on the day and the photographic opportunities it will be time for a break, some organisation of our pictures and eventually a photographic analysis and discussion of the work done. Later, when the light will be appropriate, we will walk in the old city with its narrow alleys. Only then the sun enters and transforms everything. An unforgettable photographic expedition. This trip was my third with Harry, after two in India, and a true testament to his ability and to the opportunities he exposes us to is that I am planning trips number four and five only 10 days after my return from Ethiopia. The trip to Ethiopia was a dream come true. It felt as though I had been dropped right into the pages of National Geographic Magazine, which I read as a child, and which instilled a thirst for travel to Africa. Harry ‘s organization and guidance leave nothing to chance. He uses wonderful people on the ground to drive, guide, and make each experience seamless. The festivals and amazing opportunities, remote and wonderful locations are trademarks of his trips. Harry is a genuine character, with a wonderful sense of humour, an eye for the magic in photographic situations, and a natural teacher’s ability to explain how to make use of light, line and composition in our shots. Thank you Harry for an unforgettable experience. Ynda Greenberg (Toronto, Ontario) Day 1. DELHI Arrivals to Delhi. On arrival transfer to our hotel . Day 2. DELHI– HARIDWAR Early morning train to Haridwar. On arrival transfer by cycle rickshaws to our hotel on the river. Our hotel is situated right in the middle of this pilgrimage city. Our ride will be through small lanes and by lanes of shops selling religious artifacts for the pilgrims. Afternoon walking tour of its narrow streets followed by a visit to the ghats. Evening participate in the fire ceremony on the Ganges. Day 3. HARIDWARD– RISHIKESH– HARIDWAR Early morning, visit again the ghats to see the atmosphere of the morning. Later, our visit to Rishikesh, the place where Beatles had come in 1960’s looking for nirvana! and its various Ashrams. On the banks of the Ganges River, Rishikesh stands at the point where the Garhwal mountains rise abruptly from the Gangetic plains. Its many ashrams, some very clearly ascetic, some verging on opulent, continue to draw devotees and followers from around the world. The whole place is considered to be sacred, as it is believed that meditation here leads to attainment of salvation. There are a number of beautiful temple here and it is an area of astounding beauty. Day 4. HARIDWAR– DELHI- VARANASI Morning train back to Delhi. On arrival, transfer to the airport to catch the flight to Varanasi. DAYS 5, 6, 7, 8 - VARANASI. Early Flight to Varanasi. We will be in Varanasi, calmly, with time to enjoy our stay in contrast to the hustle and bustle of Shamans, boatmen, pilgrims, cows, tourists, barbers, and fake Sadhus. We will cross to the other side of the river where no one normally goes, to admire the city from another perspective and witness the daily coming and going of pilgrims. We will stroll though the back streets of the ghats, the alleys, and discover temples outside the normal tourist route. We will meet people there, and wait for the certainty of the unexpected to happen. On the mornings we will usually start at dawn in order to be at the place when the first prayers begin at the Ganges. It will nearly be night photography, with candle lights. Later we will be walking the Gahts. Each of them is different and worshippers from different regions come to pray their particular gods. Depending on the day and the photographic opportunities it will be time for a break, some organisation of our pictures and eventually a photographic analysis and discussion of the work done. Later, when the light will be appropriate, we will walk in the old city with its narrow alleys. Only then the sun enters and transforms everything. On the afternoon, again depending on the day, we will explore hidden places of the old city before the Arati ceremony before dinner. We will go down the sacred river in our boat and visit an “akhara”, a gymnasium where Kursty fighters train and compete. If we are lucky we will be able to make a photo coverage of their workouts. Our days will be really busy reaching the Ghats to photograph, amongst remains of wreaths and cremation ashes, Brahmins offering ritual shaving, dressed bathing women. Bearded, hirsute Holy Men, bare feet, watching stunned families bathing dressed in bright Indian saris. Groups of pilgrims down the huge wooden barges. Then the calm of our hotel, attending dinner before the night ceremony. In the calm of "our" Ganges. DAY 9.- FLIGHT VARANASI/DELHI Free morning and hotel until 12:00. Later we will be taken to the airport to Delhi. Free Day in Delhi DAY 10.- DELHI - INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES Inernational departures. Nepal Extension, 6 Days (04 Dec 2020) DAY 1.- FLIGHT DELHI/KATHMANDÚ. BHAKTAPUR In time, transfer to airport and flight to Kathmandu. On arrival, reception at the airport and transfer to hotel in Bhaktapur. We will spend the rest of the day walking the city. A medieval jewel of narrow, labyrinthine alleys, , the diamond of the ancient cities of the Kathmandu Valley. The place were we will be staying as our “base camp”. The buildings are made of brick pink and dark carved wood. Bakhtapur belongs to the UNESCO Universal Heritage, and most of the city is pedestrian. The narrow paved streets linking the three main enclaves Durbar, Dattatreya and Taumadhi are studded with temples, forming the most important architecture of Nepal DAYS 2,3,4,5.- BHAKTAPUR- KATHMANDU VALLEY We will reach Bodnath, the centre of Tibetan culture in Kathmandu, which has a thriving Buddhist community and the largest stupa in Nepal, the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. We will be at dusk and dawn in the best photographic location and will take advantage the best light, the moments in which the faithful conduct their prayers while we make close contact with people, and the great intimacy of the ceremonies, the city and its fascinating streets . Will be amazed with the sight of dozens of faithful praying while walking in concentric circles around the sacred Stupa illuminated by candlelight. We will be surrounded by more than 50 Tibetan gompas (monasteries) that have been built around Bodnath. At dawn we will be in Pashupatinah the most important sacred destination for Hindu Nepal. A remarkable enclave of temples, statues, pilgrims and naga sadhus (naked holy men), the were public cremation ritual baths are made along the Bagmati River. We will later approach the golden roofs of Changu Narayan, in the eastern part of the Kathmandu Valley. The Hindu Temple Pagoda style, dedicated to Vishnu in his incarnation as Narayan was built in the fourth century and is the oldest of the Kathmandu Valley. We will remain in Bakhtapur around Durbar Square where famous scenes of films like "Little Buddha" have taken place. Agriculture continues to be developed outside of Bhaktapur and we can enjoy the view of stalls, products and harvest drying on the same floor of the streets as farmers winnow rice and wheat using wicker baskets. The artisans weave fabric and chisel wood in the same sidewalks of the streets, with furnaces in every corner. The neighbours are turning to community wells to collect water and chat with their friends. DAY 6.- KATHMANDÚ. TRANSFER TO AIRPORT. Transfer to the airport, flight to Delhi. Connection with International Flights. 4-10 Participants 4950 US$ Single Room Supplement Main Itinerary 900 US$ Morocco Optional Extension 2900 US$ Single Room Extension 700 US$ Nepal Extension, 6 Days 2900 US$ Prices are per person, based on double occupancy. A limited quantity of single-occupancy rooms are available for an additional charge. The maximum number of participants are listed under "Maximum Group" in the Price section of each individual workshop. However, we reserve the right to add by up to two , the maximum number of participants per workshop at any time. -Workshop with Harry Fisch. -Internal Flight Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi - Flight Delhi- Kathmandu if you have booked the extension -All Meals, excepted the first and the last day. -Gratuities: baggage porterage, driver and assistant, housekeeping and meals served as part of the tour. The fees do not include the customary gratuity for your guide on the main itinerary and the optional extension. -Transfers on arrival and departure. -Transport as specified. - Good 1st class, Tourist Hotels & Heritage Hotels -Visit and activities as specified in the itinerary. NON INCLUDED -International flights (exception made of the Delhi-Kathmandu for those booking the extension) -Gratuity for the guides on the main itinerary and the optional extension. -Alcohol of any kind on the meals -Personal extras, drinks, laundry, phone, etc.. -Camera insurance -Visa. -Airline taxes -Any item or service not expressly defined as included. NOV. 25 - DEC. 04, 20204950 US$ Nepal Extension, 6 Days (04 Dec 2020)2900 US$ South (India)4950 US$ FEB. 23 - MAR. 01, 20202 spots	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line700
__label__cc	0.652648	0.347352	Home > Topics > Desktop > Desktop Reviews > Aruba Instant WLAN Review: Big System Performance, Small System Convenience Aruba Instant WLAN Review: Big System Performance, Small System Convenience October 11, 2012 by NotebookReview Staff Reads (9,479) Ratings Breakdown (1-10) Software & Support Upgrade Capabilities Rating 1 to 10, top score 10 Respectable feature set $1100 a piece might be out of the budget of some small businesses Business-grade Wi-Fi that even non-technical people can set up. by Craig Mathias Historically, there have been two broad categories of Wi-Fi equipment: simple, small-scale routers designed for residential applications, and enterprise-class systems that can literally do it all but require the skill and expertise of IT professionals to use effectively. In recent years, though, a number of products have appeared that offer big-system capabilities but with small-system entry points in terms of scale and pricing, and include sophisticated and yet easy-to-use management consoles implemented in the cloud. Start small with – one hopes – no compromise in functionality, and grow to continually meet the needs of the organization, as required, conveniently and cost-effectively. Who wouldn’t like that? Our research at Farpoint Group shows that a lot of people would, but the availability of products in this space is really just developing now. One product line that we’ve had our eye on for some time, the Aruba Instant from industry leader Aruba Networks, attempts to reduce the complexity in setting up a high-function, business-class WLAN to, well, just about zero. And as initial configurations – which might be just a few APs – have a tendency to grow over time, scalability is in fact a critical selling point in the approach Aruba takes. How easy is the Aruba Instant to use? Well, take the AP (in our case, an 802.11n, 300-Mbps AP-105) out of the box, connect it to Ethernet, plug in the power supply (unnecessary if you’re using power over Ethernet), and connect to the AP from a Wi-Fi client via the unsecured SSID “instant”. Simply login with the default credentials provided, and you’ll see the system’s dashboard, which you can access in a browser. You can update to the latest firmware (we needed to), and then it’s time to create a wireless network. It’s so easy that anyone who’s familiar with a home Wi-Fi router can do it without reading a single line of documentation. Enter SSID, primary network usage (employee, voice, or guest, and remember, you can create multiple networks if you wish), indicate client IP addressing (DHCP works fine), VLAN preference (if you use these), your security preferences (we used WPA2-Personal, but there are many options here including WPA-2 Enterprise), and any network access restrictions appropriate to your policy for this SSID. That’s it. In most cases, you’re done. You can now use the dashboard to monitor number of clients, input and output throughput, and much more. All of this is summarized in a Quick Start Guide that comes in the box with the AP, but again, this is simple stuff. Aruba says the set-up process will take less than five minutes. They’re absolutely correct, and we were suitably impressed. Aruba Instant Specifications: Spectrum Analysis: Spectrum analyzer remotely scans the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radio bands to identify sources of RF interference. With an OpenDNS service subscription, Aruba Instant delivers integrated web filtering, malware and botnet protection to every device connected to the WLAN Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for secure storage of credentials and keys SecureJack-capable for secure tunneling of wired Ethernet traffic Operating Modes: 802.11a/b/g/n Aruba Instant AP 802.11a/b/g/n Mobility Controller-managed AP Air monitor (AM) Secure enterprise mesh Remote AP (RAP) when used with a Mobility Controller Wireless Radio Specifications: AP type: Dual-radio, dual-band 802.11n indoor Software-configurable dual radio supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 3×3 MIMO 802.11n with three spatial streams and up to 450 Mbps per radio Let’s take a gander at that ‘much, much more.’ Want to steer users to the 5 GHz band? No problem. You can tweak airtime fairness parameters, with both of these part of Aruba’s elegant ARM (Adaptive Radio Management) facility. There’s a sophisticated firewall, intrusion protection, support for virtual private networks (VPNs), and still more. Note that Aruba Instant is as easy to set up and configure as a home wireless LAN (maybe even easier than some we’ve used), but offers facilities appropriate to business users. Adding a new AP is also practically automatic, so growth and scalability are unlikely to be issues. We particularly like the dashboard feature. Since this runs in a browser, it’s possible to monitor and manage a wireless LAN from almost anywhere. This trend towards cloud-based, controller-less WLAN systems, particularly for smaller installations, is now well-established, and Aruba is clearly a major competitor in this space. There is a detailed manual available, but the entire product is so intuitive that we didn’t even look at it until we were well into operations. So, we got our wish: big-system features with small-system convenience and ease-of-use. Check out the Aruba Instant if you’re in the market for a true business-class wireless LAN for the smaller business. Compromise? None here.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line701
__label__cc	0.730167	0.269833	Let’s Not Make Hontey a Funeral Food Hontey is a food that needs no introduction. People would know more about hontey than they know about Haa, the origin of the food. It’s possibly one of the very few things Haa is known for and proud of, and we leave no opportunity to brag about it. Assisting my mother in making hontey Though it’s just a buckwheat dumpling with shredded turnip and turnip leaf in it to talk about, the long list of spices that go into it is mind boggling. It’s for this reason that honey has remained an exotic food until recently. Back in our childhood, we had to wait for a year to feast on hontey because not everyone could afford to get all the ingredients just like that. We collect and store ingredients throughout the year and make that one event big during the Lomba. Now, with prosperity of the country we could afford the ingredients any day and they are available in the market, so whether good or bad, hontey is not an annual delicacy anymore. My mother prepares it every time her children come home. But, no matter how easy it becomes to prepare hontey, one thing about it doesn’t change and should not change; it’s a food of celebration. We have always associated hontey with lomba, the grandest celebration in Haa. Lomba is our new year celebration, annual family gathering, it’s our Thrulbub, it’s our annual rimdro and funnily our collective birthday celebration, and the central piece of the event is the hontey. However, in the last few years, I have seen hontey in the wrong place at the wrong, yes at the funerals. How did the celebration food suddenly appear at the funeral? To cut the long story short, it’s a fashion gone wrong. Apparently, some influential people served it at one funeral and the story spread among the Haaps. Then it became a social pressure for the next bereaved family to match up to last funeral- apparently we compete even in conducting funeral, from size of the buffet to the number of cars in the convoy. It won’t be wrong to assume that some people in Thimphu tasted the first hontey at the cremation ground, and also that for some people cremation ground was the only place they have seen hontey thus far. For these people, hontey is increasingly becoming a funeral food, unless we make an effort to invite them over during lomba and reorient them otherwise. It’s clearly an urban trend as long as it remain in Thimphu but the influence has swept across Haa now. Every time there is a death in Haa, a good number of people are gathered to make hontey on top of hundred other things to do. It’s become an uncomfortable obligation on the families and their good neighbours. It’s almost becoming a scary tradition that's weighing heavy on families that are not so well to do. And good neighbours are getting sick of making what they once loved doing during lomba. Actually, if we cared to notice the obvious, it's so explicit in our practised of taking a bangchung of hontey to the mourning homes during lomba. When a death happens in a family, they don’t make hontey during the lomba as a sign of mourning. Making hontey means celebration, which the family won’t do as a mark of respect for the departed soul. They are rather offered hontey by neighbours, like condolences. How did we fail to understand this? It’s not too late to turn around the trend. We are the first generation of Haap that added hontey on funeral menu. One more generation and it will become an irreversible culture. Let us undo our mistake. Let’s not celebrate death. Let’s keep hontey for celebrations. By PaSsuDiary at 3:45 am Chechey 6/24/2019 7:51 pm Be aum Gaki's boy; be her boy of 1990s Chhimi 6/26/2019 12:15 am I am so glad you blogged about this hoentey business asho! We were infact discussing about this very issue a few days ago.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line709
__label__cc	0.560947	0.439053	Year : 2009 \| Volume : 5 \| Issue : 17 \| Page : 61-66 Quantification of flavonoids of Psidium guajava L. preparations by Planar Chromatography (HPTLC) SM El Sohafy, AM Metwalli, FM Harraz, AA Omar Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt Date of Submission 28-Aug-2008 Date of Acceptance 06-Nov-2008 S M El Sohafy Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria Guava leaves, as most medicinal plants used in folk medicine, lack any systematic methodology needed to demonstrate genuine efficacy. The method described in this study is the first step towards establishing consumer confidence in guava preparations and demonstrates the use of HPTLC-UV to quantify the quercetin content of Psidium guajava L. leaves (quercetin content of the leaves ranged from 0.181 0.393 %) The results obtained were accurate (recovery ranged from 96 - 97.20 %) and precise (% RSD 0.856 and SD 0.01). Keywords: Thin layer chromatography, Quercetin and quercetin glycosides, Psidium guajava L., Guava leaf HPTLC El Sohafy S M, Metwalli A M, Harraz F M, Omar A A. Quantification of flavonoids of Psidium guajava L. preparations by Planar Chromatography (HPTLC). Phcog Mag 2009;5:61-6 El Sohafy S M, Metwalli A M, Harraz F M, Omar A A. Quantification of flavonoids of Psidium guajava L. preparations by Planar Chromatography (HPTLC). Phcog Mag [serial online] 2009 [cited 2020 Jan 21];5:61-6. Available from: http://www.phcog.com/text.asp?2009/5/17/61/57987 Guava leaf "Psidium guajava L." has a long history of folk medicinal uses in Egypt and worldwide as a cough sedative, an anti-diarrheic, in the management of hypertension, obesity and in the control of diabetes mellitus [1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7] . The leaf extract was found to possess anticestodal [8] , analgesic, anti-inflammatory properties [9], antimicrobial [10] and hepatoprotective activities [11] . In addition the leaf extract is used in many pharmaceutical preparations as a cough sedative. Guava leaf extract contains flavonoids, mainly quercetin derivatives, which are hydrolyzed in the body to give the aglycone quercetin which is responsible for the spasmolytic activity of the leaves [4] . Quercetin has several pharmacological actions; it inhibits the intestinal movement, reduces capillary permeability in the abdominal cavity [12] and possesses dose-dependent antioxidant properties [13] , anti-inflammatory activity [14],[15],[16],[17],[18],[19],[20] , antiviral and antitumor activities [21],[22],[23],[24],[25],[26] . It also inhibits the aldose reductase enzyme [27] . Quercetin has a well identified yellow colored spot on TLC, futhermore most of the glycosidal constituents of guava leaf are quercetin derivatives, namely quercetin, avicularin, guaijaverin, isoquercetin, hyperin, quercitrin, quercetin 3-0- gentiobioside, quercetin 4'-glucuronoide [4],[28],[29],[30],[31],[32] . Therefore quercetin was selected as the principal therapeutically active marker compound for the quantitative evaluation of the leaf extracts. Several analytical techniques are available for the quantitative analysis of quercetin e.g. HPLC, spectrophotometry and several others but very few are available for quercetin and its glycosides in plant complex extracts, e.g. HPLC [33],[34],[35],[36],[37],[38],[39] , HPTLC [40] and LC coupled to coulometric detection [41] , furthermore few methods are available in the literature for the evaluation of the extract of P. guajava L.. Two examples are the microwave-assisted extraction and acid hydrolysis prior to the GC determination of quercetin [42] and the spectrophotometric method which was reported to facilitate the quantification of tannins and flavonoids of guava [43] . The present work demonstrates the use of a HPTLC method for the quantitative determination of Psidium guajava L. leaf, extracts and pharmaceutical preparations. Psidium guajava L. leaf was collected from different farms around Alexandria (location one: Agamy and location two: Maamora). Quercetin and rutin were supplied by E.Merck, Darmstadt, Germany. The HPTLC analyses were performed on precoated HPTLC plates (silica gel 60 F 254 ) with adsorbent layer thickness 0.2 mm, E-Merck, Darmstadt, Germany. Three pharmaceutical liquid dosage forms from the Egyptian market containing guava leaf extract as an active ingredient were separately analyzed by the proposed method. Instrumentation and method Standard preparation : 10.0 mg of quercetin was accurately weighted and dissolved in 10 mL of methanol, then 5 mL of this standard (1 mg mL -1 ) was quantitatively diluted to 10 mL with methanol. 10.0 mg of rutin was dissolved in 10 mL methanol. Sample preparation : Powdered guava leaves (2 g) were extracted by boiling for 5 min with 20 mL water, adjusting the volume to 20 mL and filtering. 10 mL of this filtrate was hydrolyzed by adding 2 mL 25% HCl and heating it in a boiling water bath for 25 min. The mixture was then extracted with four successive 25 mL portions of n-butanol. The combined n-butanol extracts were dried under reduced pressure and redissolved in 10 mL methanol (equivalent to 1 g powdered guava leaf). Chromatographic parameters and conditions : Standard zones were applied as bands on 20 x 10 cm aluminum silica gel 60 F 254 HPTLC plates by means of (Wilmington, NC, USA) Linomat IV automated spray-on band applicator equipped with a 100-μL syringe and operated with the following settings: band length 6 mm, application rate 15 s μL -1 , distance between bands 4 mm, distance from the plate side edge 1.2 cm, and distance from the bottom of the plate 1.5 cm. Plates were developed to a distance of 6.5 cm beyond the origin with toluene-acetone-methanol-formic acid (46: 8: 5: 1) in a vapour equilibrated Camag HPTLC twin trough chamber. (The development time was about 17 min). After development, the plates were air-dried for 15 min. Densitometric evaluation of the chromatograms : Camag TLC scanner 3 was used to densitometrically quantify the bands using WINCATS software (version 4 X).and the scanner operating parameters were: (mode: absorption / reflection; slit dimension: 5 x 0.1 mm; scanning rate: 20 mm s -1 and monochromator bandwidth: 20 nm at an optimized wavelength 254 nm) Calibration curve construction : As recommended by the International Committee on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines [44],[45] , a calibration curve was established using six analyte concentrations of the quercetin (0.5 mg mL -1 ) standard (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 μL zone -1 ). Each concentration was applied in triplicate and the average of each reading was calculated, representing 0.5 3 pg spot -1 of quercetin. Choice of the solvent used for extraction of quercetin from the hydrolyzed samples and determination of the number of solvent portions sufficient for extraction : In order to select the best solvent that yields the maximum recovery of quercetin from the hydrolyzed samples, three solvents (ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) were tested. Three 5 mL samples (quercetin 1mg mL -1 ) were individually treated according to the conditions of the previously described method i.e. heated to 100oC on a water bath with 2 mL 25% HCI, seperately extracted with four successive portions (25 mL each) of either ether or ethyl acetate or n-butanol. Each combined solvent was dried, redissolved in 10 mL methanol (i.e. the concentration of the resulting solution is 0.5 mg mL -1 ), then these extracts were quantitatively estimated against standard quercetin solution (1 mg mL -1 ). For ether and ethyl acetate recoveries of 81.40% and 76.04% were obtained, respectively, while the best recovery was obtained using n-butanol (95.50%). Butanol was therefore used as the extraction solvent. To determine the number of n-butanol portions sufficient for extraction, 25 mL of standard quercetin (1 mg mL -1 , equivalent to 25 mg quercetin) was treated under the same conditions as described before and extracted with four successive quantities of butanol (25 mL each). Every portion was collected separately, dried, redissolved in 5 mL methanol resulting in four samples that were analyzed as before. The results are given in [Table 1]. The extraction efficiency of n-butanol is between 50-63% each time indicating that four repetitive extractions are enough to extract most of the quercetin from the sample with a recovery of about 96%. Development with the mobile phase described above on the HPTLC silica gel layers produced compact, flat, dark yellow bands of quercetin (RF 0.38) detected as quenching band when viewed under a 254 nm UV light. Analytical performance The linearity of the method was tested by analyzing six quercetin standard solutions in triplicate in the concentration range 0.5-3.0 pg spot -1 . The Linear regression correlation coefficient values (r-value) were 0.9996 when using peak area and 0.9906 when using peak height. The Linear regression equations were found to be y 1 = 2565.4 x - 639.11 and y 2 = 86.522 x -19.302 where y 1 is the peak area, y 2 is the peak height and x is quercetin concentration in pg/spot. Based on the r-value results peak areas were used for the quantitative calculations in this study. The minimum detected concentration was found to be 0.0625 μg spot -1 using different dilutions of standard quercetin, the minimum concentration that gave linear results was found to be 0.5 μg spot -1 and the maximum concentration was 3 μg spot -1 . Precision (repeatability) of the sample application step : The content of a single sample was estimated using the previous method The sample (3 μL) was applied on a plate six times and quantitatively scanned in order to determine the precision of the application step. The SD of the experiment was found to be 0.027 and the % RSD was 1.078. Precision (repeatability) of the method : In accordance with the ICH guidelines [44],[45] , precision was determined by repeated analysis of a homogeneous sample using the same equipment, same analytical procedures, same laboratory and on the same plate. Six aliquots of the previously prepared sample were subjected to the same method, spotted on the same plate. The SD of the experiment was found to be 0.01 and the % RSD was 0.856. The results shown meet the acceptance criterion for % RSD specified by the ICH [44],[45] which is a precision of less than 2-3 % RSD. Accuracy : The accuracy of the method, which gives information about the recovery of the analyte from the sample, was validated by standard addition analysis. The sample solutions were spiked with two different, known, concentrations of rutin. A 10 mL aliquot of guava leaf extract; sample solution of known previously determined concentration (0.179 mg Ml -1 ); was mixed with 5 mL of standard rutin solution (1 mg mL -1 ) to give a mixture of concentration 0.427 mg mL -1 and another 10 mL aliquot of the same sample solution was mixed with 2 mL of standard rutin (1 mg mL -1 ) to give mixture of concentration 0.271 mg mL -1 . Another 10 mL standard rutin (1 mg mL -1 ) was also analyzed. The unfortified guava leaf extract, standard rutin and the two fortified sample solutions were separately hydrolysed, extracted, dried, redissolved in methanol and analyzed on the same plate. The difference between the expected concentrations and the determined ones was calculated to determine the accuracy of the method. The recovery of quercetin from standard rutin was found to be 96.20% while those of quercetin from the two mixtures were 96.00% and 97.20% respectively. Pharmaceutical Preparations and guava leaves : The proposed method was applied to some pharmaceutical preparations (liquid dosage forms) containing guava leaf extract that are available in the Egyptian market to quantify their total quercetin content. Three samples (20 mL each) from the market were analyzed in order to quantify their total quercetin content. Sample 1 contained guava leaf extract, tilia extract, fennel oil and purified honey. Sample 2 contained thyme extract, guava leaf extract, anise oil and purified honey while sample 3 contained guava leaf extract, tilia extract and fennel oil. Quercetin concentration was found to be 6.95, 4.52 and 16.17 mg 100mL-1 for samples 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The accuracy of the method upon its application to the liquid preparations was assessed by fortifying 20 mL of one sample with 5 - 10 mg of standard quercetin in order to prove that the recovery of the method is unaffected by co-existing ingredients and that the method could be applied to pharmaceutical preparations. The analysis was conducted in triplicate. The recoveries of the extraction of pharmaceutical preparations ranged from 95.30 - 97.90%. Therefore the method is applicable to the pharmaceutical preparations without the interference of co-existing compounds. Quercetin content of P. guajava L. leaves collected from trees at different stages of growth from the determined best two different areas (locations one and two) from trees at different stages of growth as shown in [Table 2] were analyzed for their quercetin content according to the proposed method in order to reveal the best stage of growth during which guava trees yield the highest quercetin content. The results are shown in [Table 2]. The highest quercetin content is during the premature fruiting stage. Nevertheless, and from the economic point of view, samples taken post harvesting of the fruits contain good amount of quercetin glycosides, as well. The applied HPTLC method has been shown to be selective, linear, precise and accurate. The results meet the guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) [44],[45] for validation of pharmaceutical assays of drug products and are comparable with those published. The method will be useful for quality control of the raw material, extracts and pharmaceutical preparations. The proposed HPTLC method designed for the analysis of guava products is accurate, precise, sensitive, simple, easy to perform, rapid, versatile. It is easily applicable to a large number of samples in a short time and with a low cost in terms of reagents, solvents and equipment. In addition the sample treatment is very simple. 1. M.S. Karawya, S.M. Abdel Wahab, M.S. Hifnawy, S.M. Azzam and H.M. El Gohary. Essential oil of Egyptian guajava leaves. Egyptian Journal of Biomedical Sciences. 40(2): 209-216 (1999). 2. S.I. Abdelraltim. A.Z. Al magboul. M.E.A. Omer and A. Elegami. Antimicrobial activity of Psidium guajava L.. Fitoterapia. 73(7-8): 713-715 (2002). 3. S. Beguni, S.I. Hassan. S.N. Ali and B.S. Siddiqui. Chemical constituents from the leaves of Psidium guajava. Natural Product Research. 18(2): 135-140 (2004). 4. X. Lozoya, M. Meckes, M. Abou-laid, J. Tortoriello, C. Nozzolillo and J.T. Amason. Quercetin glycosides in Psidium guajava L. leaves and determination of a spasmolytic principle. Arch Med Res. 25(1): 11-15 (1994). 5. J.A.O. Ojewole. Hypoglycaemic and hypotensive effects of Psidium gajava Linn. (Myrtaceae) leaf aqueous extract. Methods Find Ey Clin Pharmacol. 27(10): 689-695(2005). 6. M. Sunagawa, S. Shimada, Z. Zhang, A. Oonishi, M. Nakamura and T. Kosugi. Plasma Insulin concentration was increased by long-term ingestion of guava juice in spontaneous non-insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) rats../ Health Sci. 50(6): 674-678 (2004). 7. T. Tanaka, N. Ishida. M. Ishimatsu. G. Nonaka and I. Nishioka. Tannins and related compounds. CXVI: Six new complex tannins, guajavins, psidins and psiguavin from the hark of Psidium guajava L.. Chem Pharm Bull. 40(8): 2092-2098 (1992). 8. T.V. Tangpu and A.K. Yada y . Anticestodal efficacy of Psidimn guajava against experimental Hymenolepis diminuta infection in rats. Indian Journal of Pharmacology. 38(1): 29-32 (2006). 9. J.A.O. Ojewole. Anti-Inflammatory and analgesic effects of Psidium guajava Linn. (Myrtaceae) leaf aqueous extracts in rats and mice. Method Find Pharmacol. 28(7): 441-446 (2006). 10. R. Nair and S. Chanda. In-vitro antimicrobial activity of Psidium guajava L. leaf extracts against clinically important pathogenic microbial strains. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. 38(3): 452-458 (2007). 11. C.K. Roy, J.V. Kamath and M. Asad. Hepatoprotective activity of Psidium guajava Linn. leaf extract. Indian j exp biol. 44(4): 305-311 (2006). 12. W.J. Zhang, B.T. Chen. C.Y. Wang, Q.H. Zhu and Z.X. Mo. Mechanism of quercetin as antidiarrheal agent. Di Yi Jun Yi Da Xue Xue Boo. 23(10): 1029-1031 (2003). 13. Y. Nakamura, S. Ishimitsu and Y. Tonogai. Effects of quercetin and rutin on serum and hepatic lipid concentrations, fecal steroid excretion and serum antioxidant properties. J Health Sci. 46(4): 229-240 (2000). 14. B. Ha y steen. Flavonoids, a class of natural products of high pharmacological potency. Biochem Phannacol. 32: 1141-1148(1983). 15. E. Middleton and G. Drz.cwicki. Flavonoid inhibition of human basophil histamine release stimulated by various agents. Biochem Pharmacol. 33: 3333-3338 (1984). 16. E. Middleton and G. Drzewieki. Naturalty occurring flavonoids and human basopliil histamine release. Int Arch Allergy Appl lmmunol. 77: 1 55-1 57 (1985). 17. M. Amellal. C. Bronncr, F. Briancon, M. Haag, R Anton and Y. Landry. Inhibition of mast cell histamine release by flavonoids and bioflavonoids. Planta Med. 51(1): 16-20(1985). 18. F. Pearce, A.D. Befus and .1. Bienenstock. Mucosal mast cells. III Effect of quercetin and other flavonoids on antigen-induced histamine secretion from rat intestinal mast cells../Allergy Clin Immunol. 73: 819-823 (1984). 19. W.W. Busse, D.E. Kopp and E. Middleton. Flavonoid modulation of human itcutrophil function. JAllergy Clin Imnlunol. 73: 801-809 (1984) 20. T. Yoshimoto, M. Fu r ukawa, S. Yamamoto, T. Horie and S. Watanabe-Kohno. Flavonoids: Potent inhibitors of arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase. Biochem Biophys Res Common. 116: 612-618 (1983). 21. M.A. Indap. S. Radhika, L. Motiwtalc and K.V.K. Rao.Quercetin: Antitn mor activity and pharmacological maunipnlations for increased therapeutic gains. Indian J Pharm Sci. 68(4): 465-469 (2(X)6). 22. Mucci and B.M. Pragai. Inhibition of virus multiplication and alteration of cyclic AMP level in cell cultures by tiavonoids. E.vperientin 41: 930-931(1 985). 23. T. Kaul, E. Middleton and P. Ugra. Antiviral effects of flavonoids on human viruses. J Med Virol. 15: 71-79 (1985). 24. L. Farkas, M. Gabor, F. kallay and H.I. Wagner, F7nvonoids and bintlavonoids (Elsevier, New York, 1982) pp 443-450. 25. J. Gunner. A. Veckenstedt. H. Heinecke and R. Pusztai. Effect of quercetin on the course of mengo virus infection in innnnunodeficicnt and normal mice. A histological study. Actor Virol. 26: 148-155 (1982). 26. M. Kaneuchi. M. Sasaki. Y. Tanaka, N. Sakt.nragi, S. Fujimoto and R. Dahiya. Quercetin regulates growth of Ishikawa cells through the suppression of EGF and eyclin D 1. Int J Oncol. 22: 159-164 (2003). 27. P.S. Chaudhry, J. Cabrera, H.R. Juliani and S.D. Varna. Inhibition of human lens aldose reductase by flavonoids, soIindac and indonmcthaciii. Biochein Pharmcol. 32(13): 1995-1998 (1983). 28. S.M. Abdel Wahab, M.S. Hifawy, H.M. El Gohary and M Isak. Study of carbohydrates, lipids, protein. flavonoids, vitamin C and biological activity of Psidium guajava L. growing in Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Biomedical Sciences. 16: 35-52 (2004). 29. H. El Khadem and Y.S. Mohamed. Constituents of the leaves of Psidium guajava, L. Part 11. quercetin. avicularin, and guajaverin. Journal of the Chemical Society. 3320-3323 (1958). 30. H. Arima and G. Dan no. Isolation of antimicrobial compounds from guava (Psidiuni guajava L.) and their structural elucidation. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 66(8): 1727-1730 (2002). 31. T.R. Seshadri and K. Vasishta. Polyphenols of the leaves of Psidirum guava; quercetin. guaijaverin, leucocyattidin, annritoside. Phytochemistry. 4(6): 989-992 (1965). 32. F.E. Kandil. N.H. El-Sayed, H.N. Micheal, M.S. 1,hak and T.J. Mabry. Flavonoids from Psidium guajava. Asian J Cheer. 9(4): 871-872 (1997). 33. R. Sladkovsky, P. Solich and L. Opletal. Simultaneous determination of quercetin, kaemoferol and (E)-cinnamic acid in vegetative organs of Schisandra chinensis Baill. by HPLC. .1 Pharm Biomed Anal. 24(5-6): 1049-1054 (2001). 34. L. Chin. Y.R. Lin, C.H. Haung and K.C. Wen. Evaluation of quantitative analysis of flavonoid aglycones in Ginko biloba extract and its products. J Food Drug Anal (Yaowi Shipin Fenxi). 8(4): 289-296 (2000). 35. U. Justesen. Negative atnmosphcric pressure chemical ionization low-energy collision activation mass spectrometry for the characterization of flavonoids in extracts of fresh herbs. J Chronrutogr A. 902(2): 369379 (2000). 36. Locomen, M. Godejohann, D.P. Venema, P.C.H. Hollman and M. Spraul. Application of directly coupled HPLC-NMR-MS to the identificaition and con firnmation of quercetin glycosides and phloretin glycosides in apple peel. Anal Chem. 72(8): 1793-1797 (2000). 37. P.G. Pietta. P.L. Mauri. E. Manera and P.L. Ceva. HPLC determination of the flavonoid glycosides from Betulae folium extracts. Chronrutographia. 28(5-6): 311-312 (1989). 38. K. Dallenbach-Tolke, S. Nyirediy. B. Meier and U. Sticher. HPI,C analysis of flavonoid glycosides from Betulae folirun. Planter Ined. 53(2): 189-192 (1987 ). 39. M.S. Dupont. 7. Mondin, G. Williamson and K.R. Price. Effect of variety, processing and storage on the flavonoid glycoside content and composition of lettuce and endive. Journal of Agricidture and Food Chemistry. 48(9): 3957-3964 (2000). 40. H.D. Smolarz, G. Matysik and M. Wojciak-Kosior. High-perforniance thin-layer chromatographic and densitonnetric determination of flavonoids in Vacciniunn myitillus L. and Vaccinium Vitis-idaea L.. .J PluaurChronzatogr - Mod TLC. 13(2): 101-105 (2000). 41. Xti and Y. Xu. Coulometric titration of total flavonoids and hyperin (hyperoside) in Sal, rurus. chinensis (Lour.) Ball. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica (Yao Xue Xue Bao). 21(4): 306-309 (1986). 42. J. Huang and Z. Zhang. Microwave assisted extraction of quercetin and acid degradation of its glycosides in Psidium guajava leaves. Anal Sci. 20(2): 395-397 (2004). 43. Y.I. Guti6rrez Gaitdn, M. Miranda Martinez, N. Varona Torres and A.T. Rodrieuez. Validation of 2 spectrophotometric methods for the quantification of tannins and flavonoids (quercetin) in Psidium guajava L.. Revista Cubana de Fannacia. 34(1): 50-55 (2000). 44. ICH-Guidelines Q 2A. Validation of Analytical procedures: Definition and Terminology (CPMP/ICH/381/95). 45. ICH-Guidelines Q 2B, Validation of Analytical procedures: Methodology (CPMP/ICH/281/95). 1 Psidium guajava L. leaves [Hojas de Psidium guajava L] RodrÃguez Amado, R. and Lafourcade Prada, A. and PÃ©rez RondÃ³n, L. Revista Cubana de Farmacia. 2013; 47(1) 2 Antioxidant and biochemical content in Brazilian guava germplasm with white, red and pink pulps Santos, C.A.F. and CorrÃªa, L.C. Acta Horticulturae. 2012; 959: 125-130 3 2012-Another successful new year for Pharmacogn Mag. Mueen Ahmed, K.K. Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2012; 8(29): 1-3 4 Simultaneous determination of five marker compounds in Xuanfu Daizhe Tang by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection for quality control Qin, K. and Wang, B. and Cai, H. and Li, W. and Yao, Z. and Zhang, X. and Lu, T. and Cai, B. 5 Antioxidant content in guava (Psidium guajava) and araÃ§Ã¡ (Psidium spp.) germplasm from different Brazilian regions CorrÃªa, L.C. and Santos, C.A.F. and Vianello, F. and Lima, G.P.P. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterisation and Utilisation. 2011; 9(3): 384-391 6 Monograph of Psidium guajava L. leaves Metwally, A.M., Omar, A.A., Ghazy, N.M., Harraz, F.M., El Sohafy, S.M. Pharmacognosy Journal. 2011; 3(21): 89-104 7 Morphoanatomic aspects of Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae) leaves [Morfoanatomia de folhas de Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae)] Okamoto, M.K.H. and Kato, E.T.M. and Bacchi, E.M. Latin American Journal of Pharmacy. 2009; 28(4): 599-603 El Sohafy S M Metwalli A M Harraz F M Omar A A Quercetin and quercetin glycosides Psidium guajava L. Guava leaf HPTLC	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line712
__label__wiki	0.706618	0.706618	Smooth Jazz Metallica plays "Enter Sandman" Boxcutter Put the Dub in Dubstep Mad Professor Shows Us How Dub is Done When Pixels Attack Music Video Shot Entirely on Chatroulette Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait (1986) The xx - Intro NSFW: Pink Mania Lumitectura Fresh Air: Reggae Pioneer Desmond Dekker Fresh air did a really good spot on Desmond today: Reggae Pioneer Desmond Dekker Rock historian Ed Ward remembers Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker, who died last week at the age of 64. His 1969 hit "Israelites" was for many Americans the first reggae they'd ever heard. posted by Vitriolix @ 1:56 PM 0 comments RIP: Desmond Dekker 1941-2006 Desmond Dekker, the first Jamaican pop act to score a major hit in the UK, has died. Distinctly Jamaican Sounds has more info, and some mp3s of Desmond's to listen too. Rudie got soul. Jacob Z. says: It's a sad day for Jamaican music. Desmond Dekker was responsible for some of the most musical compositions in all of ska/rocksteady/reggae, compositions which transcend their genre by sheer force of Dekker's melodic genius. He also had the best (and possibly highest) tenor in all of Jamaica, making it hard for me to sing along but endowing his songs with irresistible soul. When I was a teenager and my interest in ska extended no further back than The Specials, The English Beat, The Selecter, and Madness, it was Desmond Dekker's music that first made me think I should dig a little deeper, see how they did things back in Jamaica. I'm pretty sure his will be among the Jamaican music that ends up having timeless appeal - that in 100 years, '007 (Shanty Town)' will still be capable of making the even most reticent wallflower get up and skank. So drink a toast tonight to the King of Ska, he will be missed. posted by Vitriolix @ 10:14 AM 2 comments Mr. T Says: "Treat Your Mother Right" Since we are writing about Hip Hop today: Mr. T - Treat Your Mother Right (Video) Mr. T Raps about his (and your) Mom. and his vocal skillz are about as you'd expect: AWESOME! I love his phrasing style, which seems to be "mumble slowly through my lines and make sure to leave lots of odd gaps in between the words". Sucka MCz take note. Labels: MusicVideos Bay Area Rap Roster Been meaning to post this one for some time now. With the hyphy explosion showing no sign of slowing down, it's a good moment to get acquainted with some of the major players in the Bay Area scene. Check out this article in XXL Magazine that rattles off quick bios (with audio) of some of the hottest rappers in the yay, even checking a couple of djs and producers at the end of their list. It's by no means exhaustive, but a good place to start if you're curious who's who. Up above is a photo of Keak Da Sneak, and if you're going to talk about hyphy, you've got to know Keak because after all, that's his word (and check out his song Super Hyphy using XXL Magazine's built-in Flash player). posted by jacob z. @ 9:51 AM 2 comments Gary Numan & Tubeway Army's Replicas Haven't posted in a while, mainly because my musical universe seems to have narrowed to a single album which has matched my mood perfectly for a couple of weeks now. I didn't want to post "I only listen to Gary Numan's 'Replicas'," because that seems like a silly thing to admit. But here goes: I only listen to Gary Numan's 1979 album Replicas. Someday soon I hope to move on, but for now, something about Numan's dreary, paranoid vision of a dystopian future where machines have taken over and there remains no trace of human tenderness really speaks to me. It's pretty well accepted that 'Replicas' is Numan's best album (though I'm also quite fond of his self-titled 1978 debut Tubeway Army). The album opens with a pair Numan classics, Me! I Disconnect From You and Are 'Friends' Electric?, both extremely catchy for songs about alienation and loneliness. Then there is the oft-covered masterpiece Down In The Park, a bleak picture of a future where humans are kept down in the park while the machines play "kill-by-numbers". The whole album oozes with grim, Philip K. Dick-style imagery, suggesting an all-too-human broken heart lurking at the center of a world composed of circuits, gears, metal, and violence. 'Replicas' also stands at the beginning of a decade of synthpop (and at the end of another decade of proto-synthpop). To my ear, Numan's work here provides a good bridge between the likes of 70s synthesizer masters like Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder, and the flood of synthesizer bands that came in the 80s. Numan infused his songs with a hooky, almost postpunk sensibility that give these cold songs about machines a surprisingly rock n' roll feel. Even moreso than bands like The Human League or The The, he made the synthesizer work in a rock band setting, not as some kind of "wow" effect (like certain prog rock bands from the 70s, perhaps) but as an integral, natural part of the band. But without Numan's unique singing voice and deliberate phrasing, that band would never have taken off. His voice sounds so alien, as if there were two or three of him singing at once, slightly detuned. He also has a gift for sculpting a sticky, deceptively simple melodic phrase in his singing, based around the hook of the song but complimenting it by adding exactly the right amount of tension through dissonance and mirroring. Numan's career has fallen off some in the intervening decades, but he is still an amazing presence on stage. I saw him perform several years ago and he blew me away, which renewed my interest in the guy. Now I will hear him in a different way anew, having had this one record on such heavy rotation for weeks. Didn't have much luck finding Numan clips online, but you can hear a handful of his songs at Myspace, and there is a ton of concert footage over at YouTube. posted by jacob z. @ 11:18 AM 1 comments Acoustic Location and Sound Mirrors MusicThing pointed me to this awsome webpage about pre-radar methods of tracking ships and warplanes. The super high tech solution was essentially to just plug giant tubas into soldiers ears. Acoustic location was originally applied to determining the presence and position of ships in fog. Acoustic location was used from mid-WW1 to the early years of WW2 for the passive detection of aircraft by picking up the noise of the engines. It was rendered obsolete before and during WW2 by the introduction of radar, which was far more effective. posted by Vitriolix @ 8:50 AM 0 comments It looks like a bad case of "insanely busy in meatspace" has hit the whole PTR staff at the same time, apologies for the crazy lag in postings around here. We do have a couple good articles and reviews in the works, though, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check these rad links: Stevie Wonder and Eighties electronics Frank Zappa's anti-censorship letter last night a dubplate saved my life Free MP3: folk cover of Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise" - all kinds of whiteys covering hip hop tunes there... Barenaked Ladies frontman on copyright reform Free music: 1961 synthesized speech audio, remixed. Sony screwing artists out of iTunes royalties, customers out of first-sale Labels: Link Remix a Maxx Klaxon Track The best thing about this remix contest, unlike so many others these days, is that the samples are being released under a Creative Commons license. Meaning that you will retain some rights to your song. Have at it folks! "INTERNATIONALE 2000" CREATIVE COMMONS RELEASE + REMIX CONTEST Remixers of the world, unite! Maxx Klaxon has released the submixes for his song "Internationale 2000" (based on the classic workers' anthem "The Internationale") under a Creative Commons license. Download the tracks, create your own remix, and submit it by July 31, and you could win a spot on the next Maxx Klaxon release! TANK FX - A Natural Reverb Effect You may be familiar with spring and plate reverbs - but this one is certainly the most original and biggest effects box around: an abandoned water tank formerly used to fill up steam locomotives at the Oberhausen train station in Germany. Now fully equipped with speakers, microphones, and an internet connection. You can upload your own sounds (mp3, ogg, flac) with a nice interface, they will be played back via the speakers, recorded in stereo with the microphones, and the result gets back to you! All in only a matter of minutes. As a fun bonus you can sometimes hear what's going on around the tank while your sound is recorded - the train station is still a busy place. The site is mostly in German but you'll get it easily. 'Record Sample' to upload your files, check 'Beispiele' (examples) of how it sounds. 'Simulationszeitalter' is my favourite - 'Age of Simulation'. Thanks to Elliptic for pointing out this wicked project! posted by disrupt @ 10:06 AM 1 comments Studio One Love How The THX Noise Was Created -- It wasn't as simple as you would have thought. version a version wayne catalogs the journey of sample from bollywood to dub. Intro Looper Make an audio looper for under $20 new source for samples (sample the the IRS Tax Code podcast) Jamaica: The Most Homophobic Place on Earth? (from wayne&wax) Archaeoacoustics - pipe dream or possibility?	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line714
__label__wiki	0.597601	0.597601	Category: 韩国半永久纹眉 More than a quarter of adults in the UK have been diagnosed with a mental illness… Hardus Viljoen took a wicket with his first ball on debut, removing skipper Alastair Cook as… Rohit showed the kind of form he is in, hitting a sparkling 124 and featuring in… The Decision Review System debate refuses to go away despite India enjoying a 50-50 call but… The Perth Wildcats have ended a three-game NBL losing streak with a dominant second half that… Bank of Portugal resumes Novo Banco sale after bond transfer Last year, the central bank failed to sell Novo Banco, which was carved out of failed… Root century fuels England fightback Bad light and rain brought a premature end to the day's play with England trailing the… Finch backs green Aussie attack Together they have played fewer one-day internationals than Mitchell Johnson.But Australia's inexperienced attack have been tipped… Odds against De Mori against Hayemaker David Haye returns to the boxing ring for the first time in over three and a… F1 close to cheaper engine solution, says Todt Speaking just hours before the deadline for the manufacturers to come up with proposals, as they…	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line734
__label__cc	0.547483	0.452517	"I Wanna Know What You're Thinking!" Song Home / Buy Now / Products ‹ Return to Previous Page View Cart ““I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!” Song” has been added to your cart. Same Page Relationship Training System The system includes: 1“Listen-Fix It” Cap (for him), 1 “Listen” shirt and 1 “Fix It” Shirts (for her), 2 samepage wristbands (1 for each person), 2 Training Playbooks (1 customized for each person, including the “10 Keys for Emotional Listening for Her” and “10 Keys for Emotional Listening for Him”) and a digital copy of the song, “I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!” This system helps any two parties build a stronger relationship focusing on recognizing the importance of emotional listening in a relationship while providing specific step-by-step activities and instructions and specific examples that help with building a solid foundation for any relationship. Emotional Listening Training System The system includes: 1“Listen-Fix It” Cap (for him), 1 “Listen” shirt and 1 “Fix It” Shirts (for her), 2 samepage wristbands (1 for each person) and a digital copy of the song, “I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!” This system helps any two parties build a stronger relationship focusing on recognizing the importance of emotional listening in a relationship, highlighting the importance of emotional connection in the communication within a relationship. 1 FIX IT shirt and 1 LISTEN shirt Get a LISTEN shirt and FIX IT shirt together. The “Listen-Fix It” Cap The “Listen-Fix It” Cap is for the guy to wear during a co-heart as a visual reminder so that his mate can know what type of communication in which the two are currently engaged. If either person just wants to vent or if the couple are working on a “Co-Heart”, the LISTEN side of the cap should be forward. If the parties involved are working on a plan to correct some issue, the FIXIT side of the cap should be forward. This cap was originally named the WWAT cap for “What women are thinking!” And knowing what women are thinking, and , in fact, knowing what anyone is thinking, is the most important thing that any person can learn to acknowledge and appreciate. Begin to remove the conclusions from your life that are not based on fact, but are instead based on assumption. Speculation, doubt, conjecture, assumption, supposition and jumping to conclusions will slowly give way to surety, intent and agreement. 2 samepage Wristbands The wedding band symbolizes the commitment to the marriage. The Samepage wristbands symbolize the commitment to communication in the relationship. They are reminders, both for the people wearing them and to anyone they may meet! The wristbands help those wearing them to get on and stay on The Same Page! “I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!” T-Shirt Get the t-shirt that lets everyone you meet know that you understand the importance of listening! Wear it proudly and practice the art of “emotional listening”! LISTEN shirt The “LISTEN” Shirt is for the woman to wear during a co-heart as a visual reminder so that her mate can confirm that the two of you are currently engaged in LISTEN mode. In LISTEN mode, two persons are working on a co-heart or one of them just wants to vent or if the couple is working on a co-heart. FIX IT shirt The “FIX IT” Shirt is for the woman to wear during a co-heart as a visual reminder so that her mate can confirm that the two of you are currently engaged in FIX IT mode. In FIX IT mode, the two persons are discussing a problem or conflict and are involved in working on a plan to correct the issue. 1 Wristband Get a single samepage wristband. “I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!” Song “I felt that the best way to get the message out about the importance of emotional listening would be a song . . .” ‘I Wanna Know What You’re Thinking!’ was created to illustrate that the key to a healthy relationship is communication. The most important key to relationship communication is emotional listening. This involves telling each other what’s really on your mind, what you are thinking. This connecting is the foundation of knowing how to show up for each other and allow the relationship to blossom and thrive. This song delivers the positive message that sharing your thoughts endear you to each other.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line735
__label__cc	0.622755	0.377245	Trump says it doesn't matter if Soleimani posed an imminent threat Thread: Trump says it doesn't matter if Soleimani posed an imminent threat Changing his story now... President Trump on Monday said it didn’t matter if Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani posed an imminent threat to the United States because of his “horrible past.” Trump also asserted that his national security team agreed on the imminent threat posed by Soleimani that led to the decision to kill him. He made this assertion despite remarks from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday that undercut Trump’s claim that the Iranian general was planning to target four American embassies before a U.S. drone strike killed him in Baghdad on Jan. 3. “The Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was ‘eminent’ or not, & was my team in agreement,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “The answer to both is a strong YES., but it doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past!” the president continued. Trump later accused the media and Democrats of “trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy, only because I did what should have been done for 20 years.” Trump’s tweets marked an effort to defend the decision to strike Soleimani -- who commanded Iran’s Quds Force, a designated terrorist organization – after days of scrutiny about the intelligence underlying the decision to authorize the strike against him. Trump administration officials have described the strike against Soleimani as a defensive measure aimed at preventing imminent attacks orchestrated by Iran that threatened American lives. But officials have remained close-lipped about the details of the alleged plots, and congressional lawmakers – most of them Democrats – have complained about the insufficiency of classified briefings on the intelligence that led up to the decision. Officials have also cited Iran’s recent escalations – including a rocket attack that killed an American contractor in Iraq – in defending the strike against the Iranian general. Trump has decried Soleimani as a “sadistic mass murderer” with American blood on his hands, saying at a campaign rally in Ohio last week that the drone strike that targeted the general was an effort to deliver justice to Americans. Soleimani has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. troops in the Middle East over the years. “Last week, the United States once again took the bold and decisive action to save American lives and deliver American justice," Trump told a crowd of supporters in Toledo Thursday evening. Trump also suggested at the rally that Soleimani had planned to attack U.S. embassies, later telling Fox News host Laura Ingraham that he believed four embassies were being targeted by Iran, including the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Esper, however, said Sunday that he did not see specific intelligence indicating Iran was preparing to attack four U.S. embassies. “I didn’t see one with regard to four embassies,” Esper said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Esper said that he shared Trump’s view that “probably — my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. The embassies are the most prominent display of American presence in a country.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also defended the decision to authorize the strike, saying on Friday the intelligence suggested Soleimani was planning a “large-scale” attack that threated American facilities including embassies. Still, he said that the Trump administration did not know precisely when or where the attack would occur. “We would have been culpably negligent had we not recommended to the president that he take this action against Soleimani,” Pompeo told reporters at the White House. “He made the right call and America is safer as a result of that.” https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...mminent-threat Remove this section of ads by registering. AngryCanadian When it comes to deflections Trump does it best. Lol @nikcers, @Swordsmyth and @dannno angelatc Originally Posted by jmdrake This is a nightmare. At least Bush got Congressional approval. Zippyjuan Originally Posted by angelatc Trump only needs approval from Trump. Or Fox News. Originally Posted by Swordsmyth The quality seems to have dropped significantly since I came here, I guess you get what you pay for. I am Zippy and I approve of this post. But you don't have to. Staff - Moderator Might as well reuse this...there is no timetable for imminent. Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty Oh, but there was an “imminent” threat, it just depends upon your definition of “imminent”. To the government neoconservatives, the word has a much different meaning than you think. It’s probably easier to say what it does not mean. It does not mean or equate to any of the following words: - Immediate - Inevitable - Conclusively Basically, the word now means that they believe the other party is probably up to no good, and they can think of no other option except for violence. "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul “They are what they hate.” - B4L The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons. The American public has been conditioned. Extrajudicial murder is OK as long as it is called a pre-emptive killing to prevent an imminent threat. “Imminent? Say no more, it was justified and legal.” All of those seasons of Jack Bauer dispatching an evil person or two every week for years on “24” was not just for entertainment. It had a specific propaganda goal. You have been conditioned. dannno This was the argument I made from the beginning, so I'm not sure what you want me to say. "He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me "dumpster diving isn't professional." - angelatc "Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes. But let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul "Paul said "the wave of the future" is a coalition of anti-authoritarian progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans in Congress opposed to domestic surveillance, opposed to starting new wars and in favor of ending the so-called War on Drugs." What the hell are you talking about? This guy was killing Americans on the battlefield. Since when do they need congressional approval to kill somebody on the battlefield who was already killing people, and had plans to kill more people? I'm sick of civilians dying, and soldiers who are fighting for their country, on either side.. These demented, violent generals at the top who are fomenting war and ordering the killings, they are exactly who should be taken out. Swordsmyth Originally Posted by dannno And Trump isn't "Changing his story", he still says the attack was imminent, he just also points out that that wouldn't matter. Like I have said before: He was a uniformed member and leader of an organization that brags about being at war with us and killing us, he was in Iraq while our people were being killed and our embassy was attacked and was accompanying uniformed members and leaders of the groups carrying out those attacks, groups that his group helped to create, fund and direct. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand. Linus, from the Peanuts comic You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith Alexis de Torqueville Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it A Zero Hedge comment Originally Posted by Warlord Trump had no evidence that general was even a terrorist but hey his best advisors are the worst neocons so who cares right? They have been saying for a week an attack was imminent - with no evidence - now Trump says it doesn.t matter. Of course it matters. You keep repeating the same nonsense the was responsible for the death of Americans with no proof other than words/propaganda, you soumd like Pompeo or Romney. Soleimani was killing ISIS and he was in Baghdad at the invitation of the Iraqi militia who's commander was also killed in the strike along with 5 others. You never acknowledge this. Innocents died. They have been saying for a week an attack was imminent - with no evidence - now Trump says it doesn.t matter. Of course it matteers. You keep repeating the same nonesense the was responsible for the death of Americans with no proof other than words/propaganda, you soumd like Pompeo or Romney. Soleimani was killing ISIS and he was in Baghdad at the invitation of the Iraqi militia who's commander was also killed in the strike along with 5 others, you never acknowledge this. Innocents died. You keep ignoring the proof I provide that he was killing Americans and the fact that the people he was meeting with had just attacked our embassy. No innocents died. Listen to this: Scott talks to Matthew Hoh about the claim that General Soleimani and the Iranians were directly responsible for 600 American deaths in the war in Iraq, which supposedly would justify the general’s recent assassination by President Trump. Hoh explains that although it’s generally true that some Iranian money supported certain militant groups that the U.S. fought against in Iraq, we have little to no concrete evidence of the Iranian military ordering, planning, or supporting any attacks on American soldiers. In fact by the evidentiary standards of the anti-Iran hawks, there is far more evidence for the guilt of gulf states like Saudi Arabia supporting America’s enemies, and these countries are supposed to be our allies. Those really responsible for these 600 dead Americans—and for the tens of thousands who come home with physical and psychological wounds, the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, and the entire nations that have been destroyed in America’s war on terror—are our elected politicians and “selfless” public servants who advocate these policies and face little repercussion. Matthew Hoh is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and formerly worked for the U.S. State Department. Hoh received the Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling in 2010. Hoh is a member of the Board of Directors for Council for a Livable World and is an Advisory Board Member for Expose Facts. He writes on issues of war, peace and post-traumatic stress disorder recovery at matthewhoh.com. https://scotthorton.org/interviews/1...lties-in-iraq/ If you're sick of civilians dying, maybe you should stop supporting the #1 killer of civilians on the planet, the POTUS. Or maybe you think he "should be taken out" ? https://theintercept.com/2019/10/02/...asualties-war/ https://warontherocks.com/2019/04/tr...oes-it-matter/ But I suppose somehow you think 1 US contractor being killed and some embassy arson is far worse.. Originally Posted by Influenza They are citing WaPo, who probably cites the white helmets, who both hate Trump and are funded by George Soros and are known liars and fraudsters. Soleimani killed a lot more than that, he also killed and torutured 1,600 of his own citizens for peacefully protesting. Sorry, I'm not going to feel bad for him. Do others deserve it? Mike Pompeo? John Bolton? You could probably make a good case for it. They brag about it. The new leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force once boasted that U.S. troops have “suffered more losses from us than we have suffered losses from them” and has repeatedly ripped President Trump and America’s allies. Brigadier Gen. Esmail Qaani, 62, now spearheads the special military unit following the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed Thursday in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. He had served as Soleimani’s deputy commander since 1997 – and the Treasury Department says he has used his power to direct funding toward terrorist groups like Hezbollah. Qaani, like many other Iranian government and military officials, also has a history of making hostile and inflammatory statements against the U.S. “America has suffered more losses from us than we have suffered losses from them,” the Middle East Institute quoted him as saying during a 2017 ceremony in commemoration of Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias battling in Syria and Iraq. More at: https://www.foxnews.com/world/esmail...ce-iran-us-foe The original IRANIAN source: https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1...AF%D9%87%D8%AF https://translate.google.com/#view=h...8%A7%D9%85%2F* "The war we have with the United States has been successful in standing up and resisting in the country because we are in the province," Qaani said Trump brags all the time, so does Pompeo, so what? its just words and propaganda... Now listen to the podcast I posted. This guy is former Captain Marine who served 2 tours in Iraq and debunks your claim that the iranians killed Americans with IEDs or anything else. The Iraqi Sunni resistance used equipment made in Iraq. THIS is what you're basing all your bull$#@! on? $#@!. "The Patriarch" Of course some equipment is made in Iraq, that doesn't mean that some isn't made in Iran. When you guys want to give credit to Iran for fighting ISIS they are responsible but when you want to claim they don't kill Americans they are just bragging. Can you read? ' we have little to no concrete evidence of the Iranian military ordering, planning, or supporting any attacks on American soldiers' That shows how idiotic your post is. When you guys want to give credit to Iran for fighting ISIS You might as well just blame Iran upon everything and on 9/11 while we are at it. There is no verification that he killed anybody on the battlefield, either. The law is clear - a president can order military action without Congressional approval only in the event of an imminent attack. We now know they were planning this for 7 months. He had time to go to Congress. Not to mention killing and torturing over 1,600 Iranians for protesting their government. Last edited by dannno; 01-13-2020 at 09:28 PM. Not to mention killing and torturing over 1,600 Iraqis for protesting their government. You forgot to cite your sources. And in any event, the law is clear - a president can order military action without Congressional approval only in the event of an imminent attack. We now know they were planning this for 7 months. He had time to go to Congress. dont worry i am sure he will cite either InforWars or Fox News eventually. Originally Posted by AngryCanadian My money is on Youtube nikcers It's not just one contractor the guy posted a picture on social media of him blowing up the whitehouse and was responsible for lots of Americans losing their lives and limbs and was also responsible for the deaths of lots of Iranian people. He was a terrorist and the world can breathe easier knowing that there is one less terrorist. Last edited by nikcers; 01-14-2020 at 12:59 AM. Rand Paul: Should we provide care and shelter to immigrants at the border or should we be paying for clown shows and a traveling circus? Rand Paul: Is this really the best we can do? Sometimes I wonder if we deserve the government we get. Originally Posted by nikcers Hello Sean Hannity! Pompeo: I Lied About Soleimani 'Imminent Attacks' By Ender in forum U.S. Political News DHS Awards $250,000 to Study ‘Male Supremacist’ Terror Threat Posed by Incels By Swordsmyth in forum U.S. Political News Imminent Threat By seapilot in forum Ron Paul Forum The threat posed by bogus 'libertarians' - Preemption needed By militant in forum U.S. Political News NewsMax: Threat Imminent By JaylieWoW in forum U.S. Political News	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line740
__label__cc	0.585133	0.414867	Check out this week’s amazing new releases ~ Play With Me - Lisa Renee Jones The warmth of Thanksgiving gives a dedicated reporter and a powerful businessman a chance to count their blessings in this tender, sensual novella from Lisa Renee Jones. Kali Miller has spent three years reporting fluff stories for a small-town Texas paper, waiting for the opportunity to pen the article that will launch her career to new heights. That dream has never felt further away when she suddenly finds herself out of work, forced to take a job as an executive secretary at a Las Vegas casino. But that’s exactly where Kali meets the subject of what will surely be a shocking exposé: her boss, Damion Ward, the casino’s arrogant and undeniably sexy CEO. Watching Damion make his cold, calculating business maneuvers, Kali is positive she’s doing the right thing. But after Damion invites her to help him plan a Thanksgiving charity event, Kali begins to see another side of the man. And when she surrenders to the exhilarating tension that’s been simmering between them since day one, Kali becomes part of her own story, which she hopes will have a happy ending. Until the End - Abbi Glines The backstory that fans have been clamoring for—how Rock and Trisha fell in love—is the final installment in the Sea Breeze series from New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines. And don’t miss the sizzling epilogue, where Abbi wraps up all the Sea Breeze couples’ stories! Trisha Corbin always knew how to hide a bruise. With her momma’s boyfriends unable to keep their hands off of her, she had no choice. And as long as it meant the guys wouldn’t go near her little brother, Krit, it was worth it. But her days of dreaming that Prince Charming would ever come rescue her are far, far in the past. Rock Taylor always had a plan. Through football, he would rise above the life he was born into. A full ride to play for a major college team was within his reach—assuming he didn’t let anything get in his way. But scoring a date with the hottest girl in Sea Breeze was proving harder than expected. Trisha Corbin was every man’s walking fantasy, and she wouldn’t even glance his way. When Rock finally does get Trisha in his truck, it isn’t for a date. It’s because he picks her up on the side of the road, beaten and bruised and walking to the local hospital. Before Rock knows it, football is no longer his life. Trisha Corbin is. And he’ll do anything to save her. And keep her. In addition to Rock and Trisha’s love story, this special conclusion to the Sea Breeze series contains the wrap-up stories of all your favorite Sea Breeze couples: Sadie and Jax, Marcus and Low, Cage and Eva, Preston and Amanda, Jess and Jason, Krit and Blythe, and Dewayne and Sienna. The steamy romance won’t stop until the very last page! Tensions rise, secrets grow bigger, and passions run deeper—and hotter—in Last Light, the second novel of the Night Owl Trilogy from bestselling author M. Pierce. Matt Sky is missing. After a solo ascent of Longs Peak that left only a large blood stain, tatters of climbing clothing, and the tracks of an animal in the snow, he is presumed dead. Hannah Catalano is guarding a secret: she knows Matt is alive. After Matt's memorial service, she lingers on the East Coast with his family, but it soon becomes clear that his brothers' motives are less than gracious. Nate Sky is bent on tracking down the author of Night Owl, a book that charts the last days of Matt's life with uncanny and scandalous accuracy, and which appeared only after his death. Seth Sky is bent on getting Hannah into his bed. Hidden away in the woods, Matt and Hannah strive desperately to maintain their ruse and their relationship—but their web of lies only tightens as Matt struggles with the consequences of his decision, and Hannah tries to escape Nate’s libel suit and fend off Seth's advances...until Hannah is put in danger, and Matt must make a life or death choice. Here With Me (The Archer Brothers Book 1) - Heidi McLaughlin Ryley Clarke has grown up with the military in her blood, with both parents serving their country. Ryley knows the risks of being married to the military. But when the unthinkable happens, and her future husband is killed in action, Ryley can barely survive... until Evan's twin brother, Nate, helps her pick up the pieces. After serving on a special mission with the military for six years, Evan Archer returns home to find the unthinkable - the love of his life, Ryley Clarke - engaged to his brother, Nate. With Nate on deployment, Evan needs to figure out what happened in his absence, and more importantly, how to win Ryley back from the man he once considered his best friend, but now thinks of as his rival. Made: A Sempre Novel - J.M. Darhower Corrado Moretti. The world knows the notorious Kevlar Killer, but few have ever seen what lies beneath his armor. The abused child. The neglected teenager. The broken man. He always did whatever he had to do in order to survive. It's kill or be killed. Throughout his life, he has been there in the shadows, a witness to everything from beginning to end. Bound by loyalty and honor, there's only one thing he would sacrifice it all for: family. Never get close. Never get attached. It's a lesson that has been brutally pounded into him since childhood, but they're words the DeMarcos make it difficult for him to follow. Through them he finds love and grieves loss, realizing the world isn't quite as black and white as it's made out to be. Never Let Go (Book 5) - C.M. Stunich Never Let Go, a New Adult Romance Novel Recommended for Ages 18 and Up (This book acts as #5 to the 'Never say Never Series' beginning with 'Tasting Never') Book #6: Never Did Say Releases January 7th, 2015 “You can't just turn off love, Zella.” I'm going home with my head held in shame. I let the anger get the best of me, watched my heart get shattered in two, and had the audacity to ignore my mistake. Love is pain. It can be beautiful, sure, but beauty always fades. I should've known better. How am I supposed to tell my sister, Beth, that all of her hard work was for nothing? That my scholarships are gone, that the money she's been sending me is gone? I've given myself no choice. I have to go home. I have to face Noah. I have to look in the mirror and face the one person that scares me the most: myself. “Humans were made to love.. It’s the only thing our species is really good at.” Posted by angsprr at 1:04 PM Labels: Sizzling Deals	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line747
__label__cc	0.715806	0.284194	More info on Neversink Reservoir Forged dam inspections controversy Access and recreational use Neversink Reservoir: Wikis Categories: Protected areas of Sullivan County, New York > Catskill/Delaware Watersheds > Neversink River > Reservoirs in New York Neversink Reservoir South end, from the dam Sullivan County, New York 41°49′33″N 074°38′20″W / 41.82583°N 74.63889°W / 41.82583; -74.63889Coordinates: 41°49′33″N 074°38′20″W / 41.82583°N 74.63889°W / 41.82583; -74.63889 Lake type Primary inflows Neversink River Primary outflows Neversink Tunnel 92 sq mi (240 km2) Basin countries 5 mi (8.0 km) Max. depth Neversink Reservoir is one of several in the Catskill Mountains that supply water to New York City and other communities along its water supply network. It is located in Sullivan County's Town of Neversink, 75 miles (120.6 km) northwest of the city. It is fed by the Neversink River, the longest tributary of the Delaware River. Water collected in the reservoir in turn goes through the Neversink Tunnel a short distance east to Rondout Reservoir to be pooled with that from Pepacton and Cannonsville as well, providing nearly half of the city's daily consumption. 1.1 Forged dam inspections controversy 3 Access and recreational use Construction began in 1941, as the city realized that after World War II, it would need to increase its supply aggressively to meet explosive growth. Neversink was ultimately chosen after opposition from the region's trout fishermen and the geologic unfeasibility of the site scotched plans for smaller reservoirs along Willowemoc Creek. Two local hamlets with long histories in the area, the ironically-named town of Neversink and the aptly-named Bittersweet, were condemned and flooded to make the reservoir a reality (the former was relocated some distance away and still exists today; the latter is gone completely). The reservoir was finished in 1953 and began sending water the following year, although only in 1955 did it reach its planned capacity. In 2006, after residents raised concerns regarding the soundness of both Merriman and Neversink dams, a local newspaper obtained copies of inspection reports for both and found that the handwriting and information relating to the structural soundness of the dams on many of them over a three-year period was virtually identical, suggesting they had been routinely photocopied. Only variable information, such as weather and water elevation, changed in each report. City and state officials promised to investigate the matter and discipline any employees involved in wrongdoing. Later several were suspended indefinitely without pay. At full capacity, Neversink holds 34.9 billion gallons (131.9 million m³). The upper Neversink drains a 92-square mile (239 km²) area (the smallest of any of the city's Catskill reservoirs) reaching all the way to Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, through six towns and two counties. It is 5 miles (8 km) long and reaches a maximum depth of 175 feet (53 m). Neversink Dam is an earthen structure 2,820 feet (859 m) long and 195 feet (60 m) high. NY 55 travels across it. The spillway elevation is 1,440 feet (439 m) above sea level, making it the highest city reservoir. Neversink is not as easily reached as some of the city's other Catskill reservoirs. NY 55 runs along its southern end, but that is the only road within proximity of any section. Access to the actual reservoir is tightly restricted and has been even more so since the September 11, 2001 attacks forced an increase in security. Fishing is permitted in season with a DEP-issued permit in addition to the appropriate New York state license, and the reservoir is known, as with most Catskill fishing areas, for its trout. However boats are not allowed to leave the reservoir for environmental reasons and must be stored near it year round. Hunters with valid city and state permits may also use the lands around the reservoir where hunting is permitted during the season. Beyond those, however, no recreational use of the reservoir is permitted. While the land is not fenced off, the area is regularly patrolled by uniformed DEP police. Official NYCDEP Neversink Reservoir page Table of Reservoir Facts at the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development website. U.S. Geological Survey Geographical Names Information System: Neversink Reservoir New York City's Water Supply System (Croton Watershed) New Croton Reservoir · Boyds Corner Reservoir · Middle Branch Reservoir · East Branch Reservoir / Bog Brook Reservoir · Titicus Reservoir · West Branch Reservoir · Amawalk Reservoir · Muscoot Reservoir · Cross River Reservoir · Croton Falls Reservoir / Diverting Reservoir (Catskill/Delaware Watershed) Ashokan Reservoir · Kensico Reservoir · Schoharie Reservoir · Rondout Reservoir · Neversink Reservoir · Pepacton Reservoir · Cannonsville Reservoir Controlled Lakes Kirk Lake · Lake Gilead · Lake Gleneida Croton River · West Branch Croton River · Middle Branch Croton River · East Branch Croton River · Titicus River · Muscoot River · Cross River · Esopus Creek · Neversink River · Rondout Creek · Delaware River · East Branch Delaware River · West Branch Delaware River Aqueducts New Croton Aqueduct · Croton Aqueduct (decommissioned) · Catskill Aqueduct · Shandaken Tunnel · Delaware Aqueduct · Neversink Tunnel · East Delaware Tunnel · West Delaware Tunnel Storage Reservoirs Hillview Reservoir · Jerome Park Reservoir · Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir (decommissioned) · Silver Lake Reservoir · Ridgewood Reservoir Distribution Tunnels New York City Water Tunnel No. 1 · New York City Water Tunnel No. 2 · New York City Water Tunnel No. 3 (under construction) · Richmond Tunnel Categories: Reservoirs in New York \| Neversink River \| Catskill/Delaware Watersheds \| Sullivan County, New York	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line770
__label__wiki	0.746484	0.746484	Home / Carrie-Fisher / Movies / StarWars / Why Anakin Skywalker Isn't the Hero of "Star Wars" [Rant] Why Anakin Skywalker Isn't the Hero of "Star Wars" [Rant] Nigel G Mitchell 12/14/2011 11:21:00 AM Carrie-Fisher, Movies, StarWars Last year, I wrote about a Star Wars poster that (to me) illustrates everything that went wrong with the series. In the process, I was surprised to find myself arguing about something I thought was a given; that Luke Skywalker is the hero of Star Wars. Some people argued that Anakin Skywalker is the hero. Let's set the record straight. The argument on Anakin's side is that he is the focus and main character in the prequels. They tell the story of young Anakin, a Jedi who falls to the Dark Side. That carries the narrative arc through the original trilogy, where we see Darth Vader redeemed by his son, and turned back to the light side. It's true, that's the story the prequels told. That's the problem. Because as much as Lucas wants us to see Anakin as the hero, he's not. Let's look at it a different way, the way we all did before the prequels. As much as we all loved Darth Vader, was anyone really on his side in the original trilogy? Were we cheering when he destroyed Alderaan? Or when he tortured Han Solo? Or rooting on the AT-AT walkers as Vader sent them to destroy the base on Hoth? Did our hearts break when the Death Star was blown up, and did we sigh with relief when we found out the Empire built another one? Did we all think, "Sure hope Vader manages to crush that pesky rebellion?" Let's take it closer to home. In the new trilogy, how many of you were applauding when Anakin slaughtered the younglings in the Jedi Temple? Show of hands? When the 2011 Scream Awards gave Darth Vader his award, was it for Ultimate Hero? No, it was for Ultimate Villain. Okay, so let's think. There was someone who we did all cheer for in the original trilogy. Someone you were cheering for when he rescued Princess Leia, blew up the Death Star, and single-handedly destroyed an AT-AT on Hoth. Remember him? What was his name again? Oh, yeah. Luke Skywalker. The hero of Star Wars for twenty years. The truth is that Vader's central role in the original trilogy was an accident. In the original movie, there was no master plan for six movies or Darth Vader. If you notice in Star Wars, Vader was really more of a sidekick to Grand Moff Tarkin. It's also been established that Vader's breathing mask, which defines his cyborg status, was developed in pre-production, not in the original script. Lucas made the first movie, but we begged for more, especially Darth Vader. So Lucas gave us more Vader. He was the main villain in Empire Strikes Back, not a sidekick. The concept of Darth Vader as Luke's father and fallen Jedi wasn't conceived of until 1978, during the second draft of the script for The Empire Strikes Back . And in Return of the Jedi , we loved Vader so much that Lucas made him turn good in the end, so it was okay to like him. End of story. Then Lucas wanted to make the prequels that we've all been begging for, but he had a little problem. The story would have to be set before Luke Skywalker was even born. Who would the prequels center around? Lucas decided to make it Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader. And even better, Lucas realized that doing so gave the original trilogy greater significance. But even then, it didn't really work in the prequels. Anakin was just a little kid in Phantom Menace who had little to do. There was a lot of talk about how important he was, and he managed to accidentally blow up the Trade Federation ship, but he still wasn't the hero in that movie. Most of it had nothing to do with him. And in the second and third episodes, Anakin was a creepy, sulking jerk who caused more trouble than he solved. In Revenge of the Sith , we're rooting for Obi-Wan to defeat him and end his reign of terror. In many ways, Obi-Wan is the real hero of the prequels, despite Lucas' best efforts. So the real problem here is that Luke always was and still is the hero of Star Wars. All the prequels did was muddy the waters. But Luke will always be the hero to me. Scott Copperman of Perspectives agrees with me, and gets more into how the Clone Wars TV series has done even more to establish Anakin as the hero in the minds of young Star Wars fans. That makes me very sad. Do you think Anakin Skywalker is the hero or villain of Star Wars? [Image Source: Sodahead] AlexJCavanaugh December 14, 2011 at 11:37 AM I agree with your assessment. Add in some bad acting and there's no way I could've rooted for Anakin. Obi-Wan was more of the hero, although even then that doesn't work. Really hope there aren't any more. Which is a shame, because certain authors (like Timothy Zahn) have written great stories for Star Wars. Cory December 16, 2011 at 11:07 AM Ep. II made Obi-Wan my overall fave character, and he truly is the hero of the prequels. He follows orders (to train Anakin for his Master) but takes responsibility for his mistakes ("I have failed you, Anakin"). He was the one who looked over Luke for 19 years in the desert, he was the one who uncovered the clone army creation, killed Grievous, cared for Padme, fixed the hyperdrive on Tatootine (at least partly), jumped out a window to catch an assassin, and on and on. What did Ani do? Bitch and moan. Case closed. Nigel Mitchell December 22, 2011 at 3:55 PM Have to agree. Obi-Wan is the man. Ken December 24, 2011 at 7:46 AM Obi-Wan is the hero, unless you're trying to paint star wars as some kind of tragedy. If that were the case, George would have to do a better job of selling how Anakin got sucked into the dark side. Question: If one of the Star Wars novels were to be made into a film, which would you choose? Which one remains most true to the other films? I would vote for Timothy zahn's heir to the empire. Ryan January 24, 2012 at 9:28 AM Nothing went wrong with the series Andrew November 8, 2012 at 4:42 PM Anakin Skywalker was created by the force and did exactly what he was supposed to do... Bring balance to the force. Not only did he take out the last of the Sith (in the films) but he also took out all of the Jedi. He leveled the playing field. Luke could never be a true Jedi, because he did in fact did turn to the dark side in Return of the Jedi when he was ruled by anger and went on the attack against Vader... But with strength, he resisted the urge to kill him... the one thing that Anakin failed to do when he severed Count Dooku's head. Actually, come to think about it... the fact that Anakin took his own life to save Luke and kill the Emperor ended the Sith/ Apprentice tradition. That was the defining moment in the series that brought about the balance to the force. Luke embodied everything light and dark, love and hate, in a single individual. rldessie April 22, 2013 at 7:19 PM Luke is a hero. and his friends (and sister). and Obi Wan too. Anakin is a mass murderer, and a mentally and emotionally unstable idiot. anything but a hero. Mueen June 26, 2013 at 6:33 PM Anakin is a true hero that sacrificed everything to destroy the Sith and serve the force Deepthroat July 6, 2013 at 5:27 PM I think you're laboring under some incorrect premises. Anakin isn't the hero of Star Wars- over the six movies, I'd call Obi-Wan the hero- he's the protagonist. Think Light Yagami from Death Note, or Kain across the five Legacy of Kains. Even when the plot isn't always strongly centered around Anakin/Lord Vader, he is still the overall protagonist- again, like Light or Kain. What was intended from the first draft of the first film is neither here nor there. It became what it did, Anakin is who he is, and he is the protagonist, though I agree he's not the hero of Star Wars even at his most noble. Loic October 23, 2014 at 1:57 AM Obi- Wan formed dark vador .. because he wasnt a good master, he said so in the film, and yoda formed luke whihc made him a good jedi. But the true heroes are luke, and Vador in the film Joe December 13, 2014 at 4:28 PM Vader was the more complicated character and he is more like a real person than any other character in the movies. He has a good side and a bad side. He starts out as a good kid, grows up to become a Jedi, but then becomes arrogant and foolish. He turns against his own, and joins the Emperor. Anakin Skywalker is indeed the hero, also remember in Episode III, once he killed Mace Windu, Palpatine said he is no longer Anakin Skywalker but Darth Vader, so he became Vader before he wore the suit. Also in Return of the Jedi, he changes back to the good side, Luke tries to persuade him to change, he eventually saves Luke, and sacrifices himself, so he becomes Anakin while wearing the black suit. I remember as a kid, Vader was pure evil, but then it was a huge twist, when Vader reveals that he is Luke's father. I think the moral of the story is that people can change, even those who do bad things can atone for their sins and mistakes. I saw kind of a religious message in the movies, a young man starts out good then turns to evil, but he finally redeems himself at the end and saves his soul. Josh Mitchell April 5, 2015 at 2:46 AM An skin is the hero, as told In the prequels he would be the one to restore the balance and he did when he killed the emperor. If you read the books it's much clearer that the whole story revolves around Anakin. Nigel Mitchell April 5, 2015 at 12:32 PM Again, this is something that bothers me about the Expanded Universe and prequels. Yes, in the books and TV shows, Anakin is the hero. But that's part of a conscious campaign to support Lucas' vision. But his vision is wrong I agree, Obi-Wan is a better fight as the hero of Star Wars Happy Trails: The Top 35 Geeky Moments of 2011 [Li... Friends Friday on Saturday: Batman, Doctor Who and... The Dog Ate My Blog Posts Are You In Phoenix? Attend the Voyage Trekkers Scr... Green Lantern (2011) Glows Faintly [Review] Infographic: The Brief History of Batman Actors [I... 5 Biggest "Star Trek" Moments Aboard the Space Shu... UPDATE: 'Growing Pains' Star Tracey Gold To Battle... No One Can Understand Batman or Bane [Video] Listen to Darth Vader's Original Voice [Video] Battlestar Galactica Doesn't Need Frakking Phasers... Friends Friday: Sharktopus By The Numbers, 8-Bit V... The Ultimate TARDIS Cake [Food] Women Geeks Love: Felicia Day [Babes] Which Genre American TV Show Were You Sorriest to ... 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__label__wiki	0.854893	0.854893	Home / BattlestarGalactica / Firefly / Nathan-Fillion / Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation / StarTrek / Captain Mal Praises 'Firefly' On 'Castle' [TV] Maurice Mitchell 11/06/2012 08:17:00 AM BattlestarGalactica, Firefly, Nathan-Fillion, Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation, StarTrek Nathan Fillion called "that Joss Whedon show" "good sci-fi" along with Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica on Castle. Above Image: Castle episode "The Final Frontier" - Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) Sam Beckett (Stana Katic) Fillion, who starred as Captain "Mal" Reynolds on the short-lived Joss Whedon show Firefly, hasn't forgotten his Browncoat roots (Firefly fans call themselves "Browncoats" after the Resistance fighters on the show). Even though the show only lasted 14 episodes 10 years ago, he still manages to sneak a reference in his latest show Castle every now and then. Yesterday, the mystery show had a science-fiction themed episode, called "The Final Frontier", directed by former Star Trek: The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes. The plot centered on a science fiction convention and a fictional science-fiction show called 'Nebula-9'. During the investigation Richard Castle and Sam Beckett (Stana Katic) talked about the show. "They were cancelled over a decade ago after 12 episodes, which was 12 episodes too many." Castle says. "I thought you would be a fan." Detective Beckett says. "I'm a fan of good science fiction," Castle complains,"'Star Trek' 'Battlestar' that Joss Whedon show, but 'Nebula-13'? No. Its all phony melodrama and lifeless acting." Firefly fans rejoiced. Castle airs Monday nights at 10PM EST on ABC. You can watch Castle online at http://abc.go.com/Castle/ Are you glad Nathan Fillion is keeping the Firefly light burning? Have you seen Castle? Do you have a favorite show that you consider "good science-fiction?" [Image Source: ABC] (Via Huffington Post) Who's The Better Smuggler: Star Wars Solo Or Firefly's Mal? 9 Ways Firefly Has Infiltrated Pop Culture Women Geeks Love: Summer Glau Browncoats Unite! "Firefly" Marathon on Ovation TV! Alex J. Cavanaugh November 8, 2012 at 3:44 PM Yes, we did rejoice! Dig Castle and that's one of the reasons. Melissa Bradley November 8, 2012 at 3:45 PM I am a Browncoat forever so that was a big hell yeah. Pat Dilloway November 8, 2012 at 3:47 PM I'm watching Firefly on Netflix right now. I couldn't help but notice he's put on a bit of weight since then. Tom Badguy November 8, 2012 at 3:48 PM Ha! That's pretty cool. Nick Murphy November 8, 2012 at 3:49 PM I loved this episode of Castle and I was so happy with all of the Firefly references! I was so excited for this episode to air, especially after my coworker at DISH told me about how many Firefly references were in it, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. It’s so hard to watch everything that is on TV on Monday nights, so thankfully my Hopper from DISH records all four major networks with the PrimeTime Anytime feature, and I don’t have to miss anything that is on. I really think this has been one of the best seasons so far and I can’t wait for more of it. I can’t wait to see what can happen next! Natasha Dythia November 8, 2012 at 3:53 PM I havent gotten a chance to catch Castle but I loved Firefly Maurice Mitchell November 8, 2012 at 4:18 PM Firefly is definitely one of the great ones. Hopefully someday we'll see a Firefly sequel. Subject: [geektwins] Re: Captain Mal Praises 'Firefly' On 'Castle' [TV] ~ The Geek Twins Alex, Castle is a well-written show, but Fillion's charms makes it work. Browncoats unite Melissa! Fillion has definitely put on some pounds Pat and good job catching up on Firefly! Hopefully you've found something you like in the show. Firefly is awesome Natasha. Castle is a good show too, but not in the same way. No Reavers ;) spacerguy November 8, 2012 at 4:41 PM Firefly is a cool science fiction show that lives on! Can't wait for the next movie.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line772
__label__cc	0.530285	0.469715	"Prohibido olvidar" by Rubén Blades Rubén Blades is a singer and songwriter from Panama who writes and performs a blend of Latin-jazz, Afro-Cuban, and salsa music. My students loved using his song Prohibido olvidar as our song warm-up activity, and yours will love it too! Download the lesson plan for the song warm-up Prohibido olvidar by Rubén Blades Download the song exam for the song Prohibido olvidar by Rubén Blades To stream or download the song, click the album cover below: The instructions for the song warm-up activity can be found here. Back to Teaching with Music	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line775
__label__wiki	0.625514	0.625514	The Mouse Castle Lounge The MCL Guest List Inside The Mouse Castle THE MOUSE CASTLE SALE! Inside The Mouse Castle 11-24-2014 - 'Into the Woods,' 'Cinderella' and 'Strange Magic' So, yeah, there was a lot of news today about the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens coming out this Friday. Perhaps you heard about it. We know it's going to be 88 seconds long because the film's director, J.J. Abrams, told us so. We also know in which theaters and what cities the trailer will first appear because StarWars.com made it all official. Nope, it's not in my hometown. How about yours? Question: How soon after it hits theaters will the Episode VII trailer surface online? And I'm not talking shaky footage from some guy's iPhone. I'm talking an official release from Disney/Lucasfilm to avoid another Avengers: Age of Ultron embarrassment. Methinks not long. Those living in the correct select cities may get an early first look, but they won't beat the rest of us on the Interwebs by much. Anyway, just so you know, Anthony and I aren't talking about any of that Star Wars stuff in today's episode of Inside the Mouse Castle because we recorded the show before all the trailer news came out. Sometimes our timing really sucks. The Baker (James Corden) and the Witch (Meryl Streep) go Into the Woods. But, have no fear, we've got plenty of other movie news for you. The cast of Disney's Into the Woods made an appearance in New York Saturday night to talk about the film and we've got soundbites from director Rob Marshall as well as stars Meryl Streep, Chris Pine and James Corden. Of course, if you'd like to see the whole presentation, we've got that right here. Also, Anthony and I break down the new trailers for Disney's Cinderella and Lucasfilm's Strange Magic along with the video clips introducing the emotional characters from Pixar's Inside Out. Sorry about not catching the Star Wars news fast enough. We'll try to do better next time. Download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/insidethemousecastle/InsideTheMouseCastle11-24-2014.mp3 Listen and subscribe to Inside The Mouse Castle on iTunes, Stitcher and SoundCloud. RSS Feed: http://insidethemousecastle.libsyn.com/rss Posted by Timothy Callaway at 4:30 PM Labels: Cinderella, Inside Out, Into the Woods, LucasFilm, Pixar, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VII, The Force Awakens Follow The Mouse Castle Subscribe to The Mouse Castle Comments? Questions? We'd love to hear from you! Search The Mouse Castle More From the Mouse Castle The Mouse Castle Lounge 11-26-2014 - Disney Imagin... Inside The Mouse Castle 11-24-2014 - 'Into the Woo... Live 'Into the Woods' Q&A in The Mouse Castle Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness: Meet the Em... The New Trailer for 'Strange Magic' is Pretty Cree... The Mouse Castle Lounge 11-17-2014 - Walt Disney's... Celebrating Walt's Trains at the Walt Disney Famil... Inside The Mouse Castle 11-12-2014 - 'Strange Magi... Inside The Mouse Castle 11-07-2014 - 'Toy Story 4,... Okay, 'Toy Story 4,' But What About 'Incredibles 2... Into the Woods: New Trailer and Character Images Inside The Mouse Castle 11-04-2014 - Fire on the S... Original Material © Mouse Castle Media. The Mouse Castle ® is a registered service mark of Mouse Castle Media. The Mouse Castle is not affiliated in any way with The Walt Disney Company.News and commentary on this site is presented for entertainment purposes only.For the official Disney website, please visit www.disney.com.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line776
__label__wiki	0.818004	0.818004	Gio and Jones 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. KNML Benchwarmers 6 6 2019 Elliot Benchetrit hits back at critics over ball girl banana drama at Australia Open The tennis player at the center of a social media backlash at the Australian Open has hit back at critics after an on-court incident with a banana went viral. Elliot Benchetrit, who came from behind to beat Dmitry Popko 4-6 6-2 6-3 in a qualifying round on Saturday, found himself embroiled in a sexism storm… Rafa Nadal breezes through Australian Open first round World No. 1 Rafa Nadal got his Australian Open campaign off to a winning start as he cruised past Bolivian Hugo Dellien 6-2 6-3 6-0. Nadal, whose sole title in Melbourne came in 2009, was tested by the No. 73 despite what the one-sided scoreline suggests. He was twice broken by Dellien — at the… Emiliano Sala’s family still waiting for answers a year since the soccer star’s death A year after Emiliano Sala’s death in a plane crash, the soccer player’s family say they are still seeking answers to the tragedy. Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were traveling from France to Wales after Cardiff City had agreed to sign the striker from Nantes — the soccer star had been saying farewell to his…	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line781
__label__wiki	0.533336	0.533336	Strike-Two Beware the Evil Umpire! StudioZio Powermad Software Argo City Parodyverse Message Board Batgirl Fanfic Supergirl Fanfic Fanfic Specials Parodyverse Archive Parodyverse #17 – Running In The Dark, Part 3 May 6, 2002 by Anime Jason Everything turned to hell so quickly. Broken glass littered the concrete floor of the basement of the Gotham City public library. Billows of smoke began pushing through the huge boiler room as flames licked at the ceiling. Batman carried the weakened Batgirl over one shoulder, and the unconscious Robin over the other. He was the only one of the three to have a breathing filter with him – he wasn’t immediately overcome by the smoke and heat. The night vision added to his mask allowed him to navigate through the totally darkened room toward the stairs. Once he use a fireman’s carry to race up the stairs and out to the street, he realized that Robin was in much worse shape than he originally thought. His hands and arms had been burned somewhat…while the skin wasn’t severely damaged, it was bright red. He pulled a small tool from his belt and opened the valve on a fire hydrant nearby, letting the water douse Batgirl and Robin as he pulled a high-tech burn kit from inside the Batmobile. Time was running out – the sound of fire engine and police sirens began to echo off of nearby buildings. There wasn’t time to stick around. He heard a cough and sputter, and watched Batgirl sit up quickly and begin to take in her surroundings. “I need your help,” he whispered almost immediately, giving Batgirl little time to overcome her weakness and dizziness, “Robin’s in bad shape.” Without another word, she returned to her feet quickly and doused herself in the stream of water from the hydrant again, before kneeling next to Robin’s head. “Hold him still,” Batman said, louder this time, “We need to get him taped up and out of here before the cops show up.” “You hold–” She tried to speak, but ended up choking and coughing instead. Rather than try to explain again, she snatched the first aid tape from him gripping her own wrist tightly to demonstrate that her costume was looser-fitting, allowing her to move faster. He nodded in agreement, and held up Robin’s left arm. It only took Batgirl seconds to wrap the cooling pad and tape around his arm, and switch to the other. Batman then lifted Robin quickly, and placed him in the passenger seat of the car. Just then, the first police cars arrived on the scene. Batman froze, and turned briefly to look at Batgirl – he didn’t say a word, but she knew what to do. She jumped into the driver’s seat, and drove away quickly, leaving Batman to keep the police occupied. She was sure he would escape – he always did – but the priority was to keep Robin, and her weakened self, from being captured. That was the first question Alfred asked as he helped lift Robin out of the passenger side of the car. Cassandra didn’t answer right away as she pulled off her mask, revealing her soot-covered face. “Oxygen”, she said, her voice cracking. As she was handed an oxygen mask, she watched Alfred wrap larger cooling pads with straps around Robin’s arms and, and place corresponding gloves on his fingers. He plugged the small tubes from the pads and gloves into a pump below the medical bed he had placed Robin on top of. He still hadn’t woken up, even after an oxygen mask had been added. The look Alfred gave Cassandra told her that it would be a long night. But that’s what happens when everything turns to hell. “What happened, Cassandra?” Alfred sat across from Cassandra at a small wooden table which could very well be called a kitchen table if it were actually in a kitchen – but instead, it was located next to a stairway in the Bat Cave. He drank tea, brought from the house along with a huge mug of streaming hot cocoa Cassandra drank slowly. It was both to soothe her nerves, and help restore her voice. “It was a trap,” Cassandra said. “The boiler in the library…exploded. Tim was burned by the water.” Alfred looked confused. Her wording didn’t make sense, and she was speaking in fragments – most likely, the trauma of the evening still left Cassandra feeling confused. “Why were you in the basement of the library?” “Chasing…we were chasing a man who broke in.” Cassandra leaned over her cup of cocoa and took a deep breath of steam as he voice began to make her throat feel sore. “It was…Joker. We didn’t know, and he…he blew up the basement.” “My God.” Alfred looked at Robin worriedly, and then back to Cassandra. “You two are lucky to have made it home alive. And Master Bruce?” As if to punctuate Alfred’s question, a door slammed at the far end of the Bat Cave. He stood and headed toward it quickly – Cassandra did the same, only walking slower to avoid over-exerting herself too quickly. But she began moving quicker when she heard Bruce’s strained voice, and Alfred saying, ‘Easy, Master Bruce.’ “He’s been shot, Cassandra. Fetch a first aid kid, quickly,” Alfred ordered. Without a second thought, Cassandra raced across the room and pulled out the largest first aid kit she could find, tearing open the box quickly. She delivered it to Alfred in another second, placing it on the edge of a medical table Bruce was sitting on. “It just barely punctured the armor and cut my skin,” Bruce said, producing the bullet in his palm. “I’ll still need to clean and disinfect the wound,” Alfred said, as he began pulling off the rubber and kevlar alloy armor and tossing pieces of it onto the floor. Cassandra wanted to watch at first, but ended up taking a step back when she saw just how much blood was hidden behind Bruce’s costume. She heard him groan in pain as Alfred began cleaning the area slowly with rubbing alcohol. Then he said the inevitable… “This cut is too deep, Master Bruce. I shall have to stitch it.” “Do what you have to, Alfred,” Bruce said, wincing in pain once again. By that point, Cassandra was determined not to watch any more. She raced back to her room quickly, determined to wash the scent of the fire out of her hair and skin, and change into clean clothing, placing her costume into a special chamber where it would be electronically cleaned, removing the smoky odor it carried in a day or so. It was a good thing she had two, something which was necessary when the costume got so much daily use. But once she stood in the shower, with the warm water cascading through her hair, the urgency she felt to try and escape her memory had vanished. Images of what had happened – the explosion, the Joker’s horrifying laughter, Tim screaming in pain before he passed out…they all came rushing back to her. She remembered the burning feeling in her lungs, everything fading away…and Batman lifting her off of her feet when she didn’t have the strength to stand on her own any longer. Then she thought about something else – about how easily they were beaten by one madman. They didn’t even see it coming – and given another set of circumstances, they could all be dead. Cassandra remembered Tim, still lying on the medical bed unconscious, his arms wrapped in cooling pads…and she worried that one of them still could be. By the time she stepped out of the shower and got dressed quickly, that last thought dwelled in her mind. If Tim died, it would be her fault. Why didn’t she see it coming? Why didn’t she tell him not to try and duck behind the boiler when the explosion went off? Why…wasn’t she the one burned instead of Tim? Her mind was spinning by the time she reached for the doorknob…but then she hesitated. Out there, outside the bathroom, was reality. For the moment, it seemed one that was much too harsh to be true. And the fire…she remembered the fire around her, the burning in her lungs. She remembered once, being in a fire, reaching for the doorknob. She remembered opening the door, and feeling such a powerful heat…and screaming as she knew that everyone on the other side of it was dead. Cassandra could feel the heat in the room as she tried to run away from the door, and slipped. She backed away from it across the floor, placing her back against the first solid object she could find, curling into a ball…and cried, wishing for freedom and a better place. She heard a sound…and looked up to see Bruce standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking down at her. He was leaning against the doorway, looking shocked as she sat on the floor, curled up, and sobbing. “It was the explosion and fire we were in, wasn’t it?” Bruce asked in a soft, almost concerned voice. He walked into the bathroom and kneeled on the floor next to Cassandra, wincing as he did so. “It brought back things you would rather not remember.” Cassandra nodded slowly. leaning her chin against her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs. “And Tim…I’m…afraid for him.” Bruce opened his mouth for a second, almost ready to give her some canned response, some reassurance which was intended to make her feel better. But he started to understand that it didn’t work with Cassandra. She valued honesty above all else. Instead, he decided to tell her his true feelings. “I’m afraid too, Cassandra.” The hug that Cassandra gave Bruce suddenly reminded him of another Batgirl he used to work with…one who he still knew well, and hoped would become a role model for Cassandra. It was a sign that maybe hope would become a reality. Cassandra returned to the Bat Cave to check on Tim, hoping that he would at least be awake by the time that she returned from her shower. Unfortunately, he was still unconscious…which quickly soured her now calm mood. “Tough break, huh?” She heard Dick Grayson’s voice, but didn’t look his way, trying to avoid letting him see the sadness and fear in her eyes. She could hear him approach from behind her, and could see his shadow tower over her as he leaned close to check on Tim. “Look…For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I got so upset about my bike.” Dick walked around to the other side of the bed, leaning his palms on its edge and staring at Cassandra to try and get her attention. He was wearing his Nightwing costume, but not his mask. “I like you, Cassandra. You show imagination…something you-know-who lacks.” He seemed satisfied with himself for a moment when Cassandra cracked a slight smile for just an instant. Satisfied enough that he decided to try and make peace with this Batgirl he barely knew. He held a gloved hand under Cassandra’s nose. “So…what do say? Truce? Hell, maybe we can even work together one day.” Cassandra shook his hand slowly, finally giving him a half-hearted smile that told him she had other things on her mind. That’s when she finally spoke to him. “You’re too eager to please.” Dick laughed out loud. “Cassandra, you’re the first person who’s ever said that to me.” She looked down at Tim again, her smile vanishing suddenly as she watched him quietly sleeping, his body trying to heal itself. “Want to help?” “Help?” Dick looked confused as he watched Cassandra stand and head up the stairway to the house. He tried to follow as she raced ahead of him, walking quickly through a darkened hallway until she suddenly stopped in a large room which contained Bruce’s ancient weapons collection. She turned around looked up at an old decorative Japanese Katana sword mounted over the doorway, and pointed. “Get that for me.” “You want to see that close up, do you?” Dick ran into the next room, snatching a big chair from the dining room. It wasn’t nearly tall enough – but with his skills, he could easily stand on the back of the chair and balance long enough to reach. “No.” Cassandra shook her head and took a couple of steps back and watched Dick place the chair just in front of the doorway and jump up to its back in two leaps. “I want to use it to kill.” “Wha…?” The chair wobbled suddenly, and Dick crashed to the floor as Cassandra leapt out of the way quickly. “I hope you’re joking. It’s one thing to play with Bruce’s collection…but it’s another to–” “I’m not joking.” Cassandra stood the chair back up and looked at the sword again. “Joker almost killed Tim. Will you help me, or not?” Dick stared into Cassandra’s angry, determined eyes, his mouth hanging open trying desperately to respond. He wanted to say something profound, which would make Cassandra reconsider. But at the same time…she was right. Bruce would disagree…but that was one of the very things which caused Dick to constantly fight with him, and eventually go out on his own. Bruce was never willing to go far enough. Without another word, Dick climbed the chair again quickly and snatched the sword off of the wall. He jumped to the floor and held it out to her…but then drew it back before she could reach it. “First, I want you to promise me something. Promise me that whenever you carry this weapon, you’ll think of me before using it.” Cassandra gave him a questioning look, apparently confused by what he had said. “I’m a great judge of people, Cassandra,” Dick explained further, “I know that you trust me more than Bruce…but you’re also more intimidated by me. I want you to think about what I would do before you use this. That’s all.” A few more seconds of silence passed before Cassandra smiled and held out her hand. “Deal.” Dick gently placed the center of the sheathed sword in Cassandra’s palm, and folded his arms. “Don’t forget what I said. Otherwise I’ll have to take this back.” Cassandra laughed and headed toward the hallway quickly with the sword in hand, intent on returning to her room to hide it until she would go out later and make use of it. But at the last second, she paused before she left the room. “Dick?” “Yes?” Dick said, sticking his head back into the room from the doorway at the other end, carrying the chair back to the dining room. Dick smiled and put down the chair for a moment. “Good luck, kid. If you need anything else, just tell me.” Cassandra walked into the hallway smiling as she carried the sword toward her room. She didn’t have the heart to mention that she had already borrowed his name…but he would find out soon enough. It was raining again when Batgirl went out later that night. But instead of the rain being soothing, or relaxing, it gave her a sense of power. She felt as if nature itself was urging her on. Besides her usual costume, cape, and belt, Batgirl carried the Japanese Katana taken from Bruce’s trophy room, still in its sheath. She had a specific target in mind – the man who had set the trap for herself, Bruce…and the still unconscious Tim. She had to teach him that there were direct consequences…and that he must fear hurting the ones she cares about. She believed that more than anything…but as she crouched atop an apartment building, looking down at a purple limousine parked across the street, her hands shook and her heart was beating quickly. Damn that Dick Grayson…his words left her mind spinning, unable to concentrate on the task at hand. But she knew she had to. Her heart started beating loudly in her ears as she saw a light turn on in one of the apartments across the street. She pulled a pair of small binoculars from her belt and looked through the window. It was…him. He had just punched one of bodyguards in the stomach, and was heading toward the window. She watched as he stopped just short of the window, and moved his purple suit jacket aside, slipping a silver gun from a holster under one arm. Batgirl felt a sense of alarm as he started to turn slowly. She tossed the binoculars aside and quickly aimed a double anchor cable launcher directly above the window across the street, tossing her cape behind her as the other end of the cable lodged noisily into a brick chimney a few yards behind her. She grabbed the launcher with both hands and launched herself toward the Joker… …and with a loud crash, and a shower of glass, she found herself pinning him to the ground with her knees as his gun went sailing across the room. She eyed the two frozen bodyguards, as she reached down in a flash and launched Bat Wings at the weapons they held. The Bat Wings each hit their target with an audible metallic ‘clang’ before lodging themselves into the wall. She then turned her attention entirely on Joker, introducing herself only by slamming her gloved fist into his face. She could feel the cartilage in his nose snap, giving her a moment of satisfaction – but she wasn’t done yet. Batgirl rose quickly, the wind blowing the rain in through the window behind her as she held the Katana’s sheath in her left hand, drawing out the blade with her right. She eyed the two bodyguards…they were too close again. A quick sweep of the Katana fixed that. But she didn’t realize how sharp the blade was. She watched as the right hands of each of the two men, raised to protect themselves as the blade swung past them, went tumbling to the floor with a soft, wet ‘thud’. A shower of blood covered the carpet and the opposite wall as the two began screaming, and retreated to the hallway. A little shaken by the power she held, yet somehow feeling more confident, Batgirl placed her left foot firmly in the center of Joker’s chest, and wrapped both of her gloved hands tightly around the Katana’s handle. She raised it above Joker’s head, feeling nothing but anger as she watched him begin to chuckle – he was laughing at her on the eve of his death. Her arms started to weaken as his chuckles turned into laughter – but through her boots, she could feel the tension in his body. It was pure terror. The man reacted to fear by laughing…and he had absolutely no control over it. She took a look around the small apartment as laughter began filling the room. The kind of life this empty soul led…it was no life at all. He had no home, no loved ones. He knew only murder, death and…seedy apartments like the one he hid in now. Batgirl started to feel a little lucky, a little privileged. Bruce had no idea what he had over the criminals he chased every night. As she looked down at the Joker one more time, she remembered words she heard recently…’Spare the life of someone who you consider evil beyond redemption’. There was no one more evil in Gotham than Joker. He was born and bred into evil, and could be nothing else. Batgirl sheathed the Katana quickly and removed her foot from Joker’s chest, watching the confused expression on his face. He was even confused enough that he had stopped laughing. She headed over to a phone next to a doorway on the room, and dialed nine-one-one, tossing the handset on the floor purposely. As a last gesture, she flipped the Katana around, slamming the handle hard into Joker’s temple, knocking him unconscious. It was better that way…the police would find him lying there, and would be able to arrest him safely. But there was still too much evidence of her presence. She leaned out the window, grabbing the metal base of the cable launcher, using the small motor inside to quickly pull up to her previous location atop the building across the street. She then grabbed the cable and pulled hard, dislodging it from the building across the street, taking the time to manually wind the cable back into the launcher. Once she had latched the device back on her belt, she headed back to the alley below, satisfied that firm evidence of her presence had been eliminated. She quickly climbed on Nightwing’s motorcycle – ‘borrowed’ yet again – and headed quickly to the Bat Cave. She had done her good deed for the night. Cassandra awoke the next morning with a start. Someone was shaking her – and as she rolled over, she discovered that it was Tim. She looked at her clock – it said ’10:45′. He was saying something to her…but she only caught part of it as her senses slowly began to tune into the real world. He said something about…cops? “…they’re waiting in the study,” Tim continued, “Come on, hurry up!” “Shower–” Cassandra mumbled as she slid out of her covers onto the floor, hands first. She finally rose to her feet and grabbed some clothing quickly before heading into the bathroom. She could hear Tim giving a frustrated sigh, but she wouldn’t care until she woke up more. Finally emerging into the study fifteen minutes later, hair still soaked, she stopped in the doorway. Sitting on a couch, listening to Alfred talk, were the same two detectives she had talked to at the police department a couple of days before. Tim was not in the room, but Bruce wore reading glasses, and sat in the opposite couch, looking at an old text. “Here she is now,” Alfred announced as Cassandra walked through the doorway. She froze for a moment as the two turned to look at her. Neither seemed happy – but she put on a slight smile anyway, to try and un-nerve them a bit. “Cassandra Grayson? Is that what you told me your name was?” One of the Detectives stood and looked down at Cassandra. “What’s your real name?” Without saying a word, Cassandra laughed slightly. She knew she had been caught in a lie…but it was one that was fairly harmless. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to tell the Detective…or Bruce…or anyone her real name. She wanted to leave it behind forever. Luckily, she didn’t have to spend much time arguing about it. “She doesn’t remember,” Bruce interrupted. “If you must know, Alfred and I found her wandering the neighborhood, confused. We took her in, and found that she had almost no memory of where she came from or who she was. She told us later that she had been rescued by…Batman…from a fire.” The two Detectives looked at each other. It was easy to tell that neither believed the part of the story involving Batman. One of the two spoke up again. “And why did she give us the name Cassandra Grayson?” Bruce laughed and leaned back comfortably on his couch, giving no indication of being uneasy. He was an expert at that – he could tell any lie, and make it more believable than most people’s truths. “A man named Grayson was here a few days ago. He’s a business associate from out of town. She simply borrowed his name.” “Any relation to a cop named Richard Grayson?” the other Detective asked. “I don’t ask my business associates personal questions about their relatives.” Bruce shrugged. Cassandra tried hard to not to smile too much. She enjoyed watching Bruce spin such a complete story. The two detectives finally rose, one of them heading toward the door as the other stopped to shake Bruce’s hand as he stood as well. “I’m sorry to have taken your time, Mr. Wayne.” “Not at all, Detective,” Bruce said in a smooth, quiet manner, “I feel a little more secure knowing that Gotham’s finest are looking after my welfare.” As soon as Cassandra heard the door close, and the two Detectives were outside, she started laughing out loud. Bruce frowned at first, but then began smiling once he realized why. “It takes a lot of practice to do that, Cassandra.” Bruce squeezed her shoulder as he walked past her, and headed back to his office. “You’ll learn one day.” Detective Callahan tore through the streets of Gotham City, his partner, Detective Williamson, clinging to the dashboard as he took corners quickly. A blue light spun quickly just in front of the windshield, and a siren blared to tell traffic to clear the way. Moments earlier, when the two had just left Wayne Manor, they got word over their radio that the police station was on fire. All Detectives were requested to report to the station ‘Code 3’ – that meant lights and sirens, with total disregard for traffic safety. Callahan practically drove onto the lawn of the police station, leaving forty foot long skid marks on the pavement as his car screeched to a halt. His partner leapt out before the car had even come to a complete stop. The two raced for the doors of the police department – but were immediately grabbed and held back by two fire fighters loaded down with gear. “Whoa, whoa,” one fire fighter told them, “If you two go in there, you’ll both end up extra crispy.” “What’s going on?” Williamson asked. “A fire. Duh,” the other fire fighter responded. Callahan shoved the ruder of the two fire fighters aside, becoming impatient as he purposely tried to intimidate the other. “Where’s the fire chief?” Williamson and Callahan headed toward the fire chief after being pointed toward him. When they approached, the chief was busy yelling to a few men on a fire engine about hooking up another hose. “Any idea what’s going on?” Callahan asked. “Looks like a fire started in one of the garbage cans near the homicide office,” the chief said, “The contents of a few desks and file cabinets have been burned. My guess is someone was smoking in the office.” Williamson looked at Callahan. “One of your cigars?” Callahan shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I toss my matches at you, not into the trash can.” “Chief, as soon as you get some information, let us know,” Williamson said. “No problem,” the chief replied. “You took my motorcycle again. I can’t believe this.” Dick Grayson paced around the dining room at Wayne Manor, attempting to hold a conversation with Cassandra. But he found only frustration as she continued eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream and reading a book, seemingly oblivious to his presence. “You know,” he added, pausing for a moment as he watched Tim enter the room, “I check the mileage on that bike every day. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” Dick turned around quickly as he heard a snicker from Tim. “Do you think this is funny?” “No,” Tim said, barely containing laughter, “What’s funny is she stole your last name, and you’re busy whining about your bike.” Cassandra smiled slightly, trying in futility to bury her face in the book she was reading in the hopes that Dick wouldn’t see that she was amused. His mouth was hanging open, and she could see the veins in his forehead stand out – he was left wordless by the anger he felt. “She told the cops her name was Cassandra Grayson,” Tim added. An angry look from Dick told him that he wasn’t helping. “I need you to understand, Cassandra,” Dick said slowly, “I need you to promise that you’ll stop stealing my bike.” “It’s just a bike.” Cassandra didn’t even look up from her book as she spoke, seeming not to worry even the slightest bit about the fact that he was angry. Dick turned to look at Tim, who was smile smiling in amusement. He motioned for Tim to leave…and then again, more urgently, after Tim didn’t take the first suggestion seriously. As Tim finally left the room slowly, reluctantly, Dick leaned over Cassandra’s shoulder, carefully prying the book from her hands and lying it down on the table. Cassandra turned and gave him a quick glare. “The day I stopped being Robin, Cassandra, I was prepared to leave here as an outcast…to be a nobody again. I wanted to make a clean break. I didn’t even want to see Batman or Bruce ever again.” “What happened?” Cassandra asked. Dick stood up and took a deep breath, looking at Cassandra for a moment as if he wasn’t sure if he should tell her any more. “He gave me the bike. No strings attached, no questions, nothing. He’s never said a word about it since – he’s never held it over me.” “It was a gift of love.” Cassandra had turned completely around now, her arms hanging over the back of the chair as she gave Dick her full attention. At first, Dick visibly cringed at Cassandra’s assessment. He remembered hearing so many sick jokes about his old Robin costume, he didn’t like the implications of the word she used. “I wouldn’t say ‘love’, exactly. More like a gift of mutual respect.” Cassandra nodded and smiled. “I understand.” He continued staring at her as she kept smiling at him, just knowing that somewhere behind it was one of those jokes he dreaded so much…or perhaps he’d just become paranoid after hearing so many of them. “So lay off the bike, all right? If it were ever damaged or destroyed, I’d lose a precious gift. You understand, right?” “Yes.” Cassandra nodded again, still smiling. Dick began to feel a little frustrated, wondering what kinds of thoughts were swimming behind that calm expression of hers. “Any questions?” Dick asked, almost sarcastically. “Just one,” she said, her smile disappearing as she looked up at Dick. “You wanted to leave this all behind…so why did you come back?” Dick opened his mouth to answer, but found no words. He sighed as he looked down at Cassandra, knowing full well that she had seen right through his tough exterior to his core. If she had any talent worthy of the Bat-family, that was it. “Sometimes, I’m not sure myself. But I have discovered over time that…you really can’t go forward until you’re willing to go back a little. Keep that in mind, Cassandra.” Just as Dick turned to leave the dining room, Cassandra slipped out of her chair and grabbed his arm tightly, stopping him before he took more than a few steps. “What do you mean…go back?” “I mean no one can just abandon their past. It always comes back to haunt them.” It was just after dusk as Bruce entered his office, neglecting to turn on the light as he approached his desk. He had accustomed himself to seeing fairly clearly in near darkness – which was no small feat considering that he was at an age where he needed reading glasses to see the morning newspaper. As he entered that office, he could tell something was different. A quick glance around told him exactly what it was – Cassandra was sitting in his desk chair, her black costume boots propped on the surface of his desk. She had the leather seat leaned way back, and she was fidgeting with a letter opener. “You watched your parents die…just like I did.” Without saying a word, Bruce swallowed hard as he approached the desk, and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it. He knew very well that the two situations Cassandra likened were very, very different…and he already didn’t like where the discussion was headed. But he learned to be patient with her, to listen. “What was it like for you?” “Well–” Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn’t like talking about that event in his life, but he hoped opening up would bring Cassandra into an actual conversation. “–At the time, I was just a kid. When you’re a kid, you think everything lasts forever. And then…” “Go on,” Cassandra urged, noting the pause from Bruce. “And then,” Bruce continued calmly, “It’s all taken away. Not just one thing, like a bike or a toy that’s lost. Everything. My whole world had been taken away from me.” “Did you cry?” “No. No, I don’t remember ever crying.” He paused for what seemed like an eternity, as he dug through his memory to make sure he was correct. “It’s strange…that something so traumatic could happen to me, yet I didn’t cry. I guess I was in shock.” “Oh. Good.” Cassandra looked down, away from Bruce, continuing to fidget with the letter opener. “Why did you ask, Cassandra?” “I wanted to know if I was normal.” She shrugged, looking at her reflection in the letter opener. “Because I didn’t cry for my parents either.” Bruce stood suddenly and leaned over the desk, finally deciding to go for as much information as he could get. She seemed ready enough to talk. “I know why you set the fire that killed your parents, Cassandra. I know you only meant to scare them…but you didn’t understand how fire worked.” Cassandra sat up slightly, suddenly giving her full attention to what Bruce was saying – but she didn’t give any indication to whether he was right or wrong. “You expected them to run from their room, screaming in terror while you laughed. You did hear them scream…but they never came out. The fire, however, did…and forced you to the protection of your room.” A long paused was filled by the slight audible sound of Cassandra rubbing the point of the letter opener against her fingernails. “I didn’t know they died until after you brought me here–” “–And you knew you couldn’t tell anyone. Especially me…because you didn’t want me to be afraid.” She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. She looked sad for a moment, like she was expecting some kind of penalty. After all, she had spent the entire time she’d known Bruce lying to him, even though he offered her a home and a large part in the Bat-family. “I know your real last name, Cassandra.” Bruce picked up a green folder which had been lying in a bin on the desk the entire time. “It’s on the former title to the house. This is the only remaining copy after the bank took possession of it.” Cassandra cringed as she watched Bruce open the folder slowly and glance inside. She had a look of panic on her face for a moment as he looked directly at her…and then Bruce quickly shoved the entire folder into a shredder positioned next to his desk. A loud grinding sound, and a flutter of paper chips was all the noise that the infamous folder had created. She felt grateful for what he had done…but she wondered why. “A man named Jim Gordon discovered Batman’s identity once,” Bruce began to explain calmly, smiling in an almost amused manner at the expression Cassandra gave him, “He almost used it to bring me down. But then he decided against it. He invited me to his office, and shredded the file before my eyes. He gave me the freedom to start over…and I’ve given you the same.” She shook her head slightly, seeming calmer now. “Why are you doing this?” Bruce simply smiled and turned to leave the office, heading toward the door quickly. He paused for a moment just before he cleared the doorway. “I believe you have a meeting with Shiva. Don’t be late.” Posted in Batgirl Fanfic. #21 – Made In America, Part 2 Trolling The Galaxy, Part 3 Batgirl Fanfic (21) Raiders (6) Special Fanfic (22) Supergirl Fanfic (11)	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line783
__label__wiki	0.69646	0.69646	My Hero One’s Justice Review James (@oKidUKo) The anime and manga franchise My Hero Academia is taking the world by storm, to the point where Bandai Namco simply had to release a video game adaptation for the console market. After a handful of name changes during development, My Hero One’s Justice became the title of said game and now it’s time for us to see whether it is the mightiest of all fighting experiences, or if it’s a quick cash-grab tie-in for the superhero filled franchise? My Hero One’s Justice keeps the fighting setup fairly simple, with matches consisting of one versus one bouts across either a single round or a best of three. Additionally, support is sometimes available from a selection of side-kicks and these can be especially handy to distract the enemy. The aim is to drain your opponent’s health by using a wide range of super abilities – or Quirks as they are better known – and powerful attacks that anyone unfamiliar with My Hero Academia would be blown away by. Dependant on your chosen character there are ice blasts, whirlwinds, fiery blazes and even a dark shadow that can be unleashed. It’s also pretty cool when the fight gets taken vertically and onto a nearby wall, adding another dimension to the fighting. One of the best parts is how easy it is to pull off the Quirk abilities, with just a press of a face button enough for a sweet manoeuvre. A meter must be filled to execute the ‘Plus Ultra’ special moves using the RB and another button, but it’s so worth doing as those attacks are usually very exciting with a little cutscene playing out to give it a more emphatic feel. Given the ease of attacking, it ensures most battles are utterly frantic and being able to guard, jump and dash is critical to your survival. The only issues to be found in the gameplay are regarding the occasionally headless chicken A.I. and the frequency of attacks missing their target because of the 3D fighting arenas; it’s hard to pin an opponent down. Moving onto the game modes and Story Mode is the most in-depth offering of the bunch, featuring a ton of encounters between the Heroes and Villains of My Hero Academia. The narrative is told mainly by comic book style storyboards, following All Might, Izuku Midoriya and his classmates through an assortment of their antics in Season 2 and 3 of the anime – as well as a few made-up ‘What If’ type offerings. If you aren’t fairly up to date with the anime then there will be spoilers galore as Stain makes his mark, the UA Students take further exams, before coming across new villains like Dabi and Toga, whilst the heroes eventually end up facing off against the mastermind behind the League of Villains. The fact that it freshens up most of the battles by you controlling a variety of heroes makes it less of a drag. Once you’ve tackled everything thrown your way, even more conflicts are on the horizon with the focus on fighting using the baddies for a change. Completing each chapter and meeting certain requirements unlocks a decent range of customisation items to alter the look of the characters too. Unfortunately, the storytelling aspect didn’t really grip me and I believe the lack of dubbing doesn’t help – every spoken word is voiced in Japanese only – but also storyboarding does a disservice to the awesome action it should be portraying. Then there’s Missions, which is the only other major mode that brings something new to the table and it’s a bit like an endurance task. After picking your team of fighters, it’ll be up to you to manage their health, deciding who to risk across a number of scenarios within one of six maps included. Each fight has a catch too, such as regular attacks doing less harm or the side-kick meters recharging faster. There’s a bit of a tactical edge to this mode as you advance further through a map because you need to choose the best suited fighter for the opponent at hand, whilst factoring in their current health state and debating whether to use any items you’ve garnered to provide a boost. The best example of this was when I faced off against Kaminari who excels in electrifying moves up close and therefore ended up losing with Iida, before switching to a low health Todoroki to retry as he can shoot off fiery blasts from distance. It worked and showcased the strengths and weaknesses of specific characters that I hadn’t really seen in the Story Mode or the other solo offerings. Not that there are many more single player modes to discuss, with the standard Local Match enabling a quick one-off fight against a human or A.I. and the Training mode being pretty self-explanatory. The usual Arcade cavalcade of match-ups is present as well, however that’s your lot unless you fancy venturing into the daunting online world. Online Mode enables the option to go into battle against another human via Unranked and Ranked matches. What’s great is how easy it is to set your preferred Stage, chosen character, costume and side-kicks beforehand, meaning there’s no faffing about once you’re matched up with an opponent. A lot of games lose their online population swiftly, but so far, it hasn’t ever been a struggle to find a match, gameplay retains its smoothness and the whole experience is fast enough that losing doesn’t feel too bad at all – I’ve taken many beatings and I enjoyed each of them. In terms of the roster, the 3D character models are very impressive and their move sets are on-point, especially for the trickier Quirks needing to be showcased e.g. Eraser Head’s nullification Quirk and Momo Yaoyorozu’s creation powers. Stain’s terrifying aura and bloodlust appears to have been toned down dramatically though, which is disappointing. The heroes are well represented, but the villains are in short supply and My Hero One’s Justice could’ve done with a couple more to fill out that side. It’s hard to judge the audio and more specifically the voiceovers, simply because I don’t understand Japanese so it’s difficult to decipher how much conviction there is to the roles the voice actors are playing. The menu music is decent though, conveying that sense of ‘get ready to head into a fight’ type atmosphere. My Hero One’s Justice on Xbox One is a darn good fighting game that never ceases to deliver excitement due to the fast-paced nature and the wonderfully creative moves that are in keeping with the My Hero Academia franchise. The bulk of the action takes place in Story Mode and Missions, so it’s a good job these are fun to work through. It’s refreshing that the online scene is still going strong at the moment too. Not everything is great though, with the roster lacking in baddies, a subtitled story that’s disengaging and a penchant for special moves missing their target. I’d like to argue that My Hero One’s Justice is one for all, but it throws you into the universe so quickly that without prior knowledge of the franchise, you’d enjoy it far less. That’s fine though as it’s bloody good fun for the rest of us! The anime and manga franchise My Hero Academia is taking the world by storm, to the point where Bandai Namco simply had to release a video game adaptation for the console market. After a handful of name changes during development, My Hero One’s Justice became the title of said game and now it’s time for us to see whether it is the mightiest of all fighting experiences, or if it’s a quick cash-grab tie-in for the superhero filled franchise? My Hero One’s Justice keeps the fighting setup fairly simple, with matches consisting of one versus one bouts across either a… The weird and wonderful Quirks Missions bring a strategic element to proceedings Lots of story-based encounters Roster needs more villains No dub option and the use of storyboards isn't engaging Massive thanks to – Bandai Namco Formats - Xbox One (Review), PS4, Switch, PC Release date – October 2018 Previous articleFinal Fantasy XV Comrades Multiplayer Expansion Releases as a Standalone Experience Next articleCrypt of the NecroDancer on Xbox One gets Amplified! Been gaming casually since the SNES as a youngster but found my true passion for games on the Playstation 1 (the forbidden word ooo). My addiction grew to its pinnacle with the purchase of an Xbox 360 & Xbox Live Service. A recovering GS hunter that will still play literally any game. Dead or Alive 6 Season Pass 4 beckons in new Nova Sci-Fi and Revival Maid Costumes HAIM provide the latest Rocksmith Song Pack eight − = 3 Hero Express Review Minesweeper Genius Review Speed Brawl Review Cities: Skylines – Snowfall Review Bulb Boy Review 1979 Revolution: Black Friday Review NBA Live 19 Review Frostpunk Review	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line788
__label__cc	0.705175	0.294825	Posts in Latest Libraries News Joseph Coehlo's Library Marathon Posted Friday 30 August 2019 by Guest blog writer in Latest Libraries News Poet and author Joseph Coelho called in to Blackburn Central Library this week, as part of his national Library Marathon. On Saturday 24 August he joined the library, chatted to staff, and donated two books. Plus he posed for a photograph with the library’s other special guest Marshall the puppy, part of the Brickburn Paw Patrol trail around the town centre! As part of his Library Marathon Joseph is physically visiting a library in each authority to join and receive his library card. He’s plotting his progress on a giant library marathon map on his website, tweeting and blogging his journey around the UK. Joseph has long been a passionate and vociferous supporter of libraries in the UK. His debut picture book, Luna Loves Library Day, illustrated by Fiona Lumbers and published by Andersen Press, celebrates his love for libraries and his own childhood spent in libraries. The Library Marathon is undertaken with the support of CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals) and Libraries Connected. Posted Monday 15 April 2019 by Ian Anstice in Funding Opportunities, Latest Libraries News “New Words” is an 18 month project to promote North West publishers and North West libraries to each-other and to the public. Partners in the project are the 22 Time To Read partner library services and the North West ACE-funded publishers (Carcanet, Comma Press, Dead Ink, Knives Forks and Spoons, Saraband). The following is a technical overview of the project but look out in the future for events and promotions flowing from it ... Improve links between North West publishers and libraries Raise public and library staff awareness of publishers via book collections, events and displays Art element will explore explore new ways of promoting books. 22 events plus showcase event and learning event Reading group resources Working group members Working group will include include co-ordinator, five representatives from publishers (one per publisher), five representatives from library services and others as appropriate. Expected to meet five times, with four meetings are scheduled, with the fifth being as and when needed. Publishers will provide suggestions of books for collection/displays and to provide suggestions from authors and publishers for 22 events (one per library service). Events from the publisher themselves may include how to get published. They will work with librarians on how best to put on author events generally. Librarians will attend five meetings with publishers. Some of the meetings will be in Manchester but other venues will be considered. Librarians will choose which titles to use in reading group sets and to decide how to best serve those non-set using library services. They will choose authors/publishers, from a selection provided by publishers, for events. Assist in arranging events, including showcase event, and fixing ticket price levels. Librarians will work with artist on what artwork is required for the project, share an explanation of their library stock purchasing process with publishers , discuss how best to ensure the work of regional publishers is purchased for North West libraries and discuss with publishers how to place other events in libraries outside of the scope of the New Words project. They will also consider ways of increasing diversity in stock buying to include more non-bestsellers and local stock. All appointments will be made in a fair and open process of advertising and selection by members of Time To Read. It may be that the posts are combined e.g. the artist and co-ordinator may be the same person. An emerging artist will be chosen. The nature of the artist will be decided by the librarian/publisher group at the start of the project. The artist will need to be familiar with public libraries and/or will visit libraries to be aware of limitations (e.g. lack of display space) and possibilities. He or she will discuss with working group as to best options and may develop easily produced point of sale items, perhaps including book marks, leaflet, feedback postcards, header for book display, empty belly posters for space to write feedback comments or book reviews from librarians or customers etc. He or she may develop eyecatching displays to promote the chosen books and publishers. Artists may wish to use currently under-utilised space in buildings for this e.g. floors, ceilings, stairs. Displays need to be easily moveable in the case of physical displays or duplicatable in the case of vinyls etc. Art is specifically not to include a single physical art piece as it would be difficult to sufficiently tour it. An independent evaluator will be engaged at the start, middle and end of the project to ensure that evaluation is at the heart of the programme and the most lessons are learnt from it. Evaluation suggested (tentative): For staff: To be measured by pre- and post-project survey, independent interviews with staff and publishers. Measure awareness of publishers/libraries with eachother at start and end of project. Online survey of participants at start and end inc. likelihood to work together again. Half day with a publisher and librarian at start of project to decide aims. For the public: To be measured by survey of those who have seen displays, art and reading group collections. Measure number of titles, and issues, in libraries at start and end of project. This includes counting the number of books by the publishers in the target libraries at the start and end of the project e.g. count issues of books by publishers and measure the amount of poetry. - Sample readers (bookmark/postcard), event attenders (online/paper form). To arrange and attend meetings, travel, prep and co-ordination of various strands. Familiarisation of project, consultation, overseeing of various stages. Will produce a toolkit on how best to promote local/independently published works in libraries including events and displays. Provide web space for promoted works, pending permission from those which are chosen, and it is expected also to include audio and video clips. Time To Read will promote to book bloggers and work with working group/artist to on publicity to include Facebook and press release. May or earlier: Selection and appointment of librarians and publishers for working group. May: appointment of co-ordinator 30 May: First meeting June: appointment of artist and evaluator. Publishers choose titles to submit to librarians for displays/reading group boxes and to develop event options July: Librarians choose titles. August: Second meeting. Artist to visit libraries, look at books and work on brief. August/September: Books and materials bought for reading groups. October: Third meeting November/December: events booked, Distribution of reading group sets. January to June: Events. 22 events with c. 20 attending each. Events will be ticketed/charged for with income being paid to Time To Read as part of funding. April: fourth meeting August: Showcasing event with c.50 attending. Event can be ticketed/charged for (C.£5). The showcase event will be for the authors and publishers to meet together with the public and librarians to gain a multi-faceted view of what's available. Show what has been done in libraries and publishers to date e.g. displays, events. Authors and panel discussing what has been learnt. Opportunity, and encouragement, to mix at lunch. Invite all relevant publishers and library services inc. Libraries Connected, Taskforce. September: Half day session to share learning. Budget: £500 for publishers, £100 for artist, Reading group sets Funds for 22 reading group sets to include skips. There are currently two vacancies associated with this project: CWA Brings Writers, Venues and Book Groups Together in National Crime Reading Month in May Posted Wednesday 3 April 2019 by Ian Anstice in Latest Libraries News May will be a time for murder and mayhem as National Crime Reading Month (NCRM) makes a welcome return – and the organisers are urging writers and venues to become involved. NCRM, which has run for a number of years, is a unique literary festival that is held throughout the UK in May to celebrate the crime genre, both fiction and non-fiction. The festival, which is organised by the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) and the Crime Readers’ Association (CRA), sees authors staging events including talks, recitals and ‘in conversation’ evenings in venues ranging from libraries to pubs, theatres to town halls. CWA Chair Martin Edwards said: “National Crime Reading Month is an exciting event, which is designed to bring together writers and readers in order to promote the genre as a whole and individual crime writers specifically.” Members of the public interested in crime fiction and non-fiction are encouraged to visit the National Crime Reading Month website to see what events are on in their area. Libraries, booksellers, book groups and festivals wishing to organise an event and seeking crime writers to participate should contact admin@thecwa.co.uk. The CWA undertakes to add all events of which they’re informed and in which their members are participating to the website. The Crime Writers’ Association was founded in 1953 by prolific author John Creasey and continues to grow. Dynamic and innovative, it enjoys a prestigious reputation – as well as organising the renowned Dagger awards and co-ordinating National Crime Writing Month, the CWA also runs a sister organisation, the Crime Readers’ Association. The Crime Readers’ Association offers a unique perspective on the largest community of crime writers in the world and provides informative newsletters and ezines to over 10,000 members. The CWA provides practical support to libraries, booksellers and festivals not only in May but also throughout the year with the help of its Library and Booksellers’ Champions and Festival Liaison Officers. For more details, see https://thecwa.co.uk/libraries or email secretary@thecwa.co.uk. Inaugural Speed Dating library event is Valentine’s hit for LiveWire in Warrington Posted Wednesday 20 February 2019 by Ian Anstice in Latest Libraries News Love was in the air at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub in Warrington on Wednesday 13th February, when LiveWire held its first Library Speed Dating event - which received fantastic feedback from those who attended. Organised by LiveWire’s Community Librarian Team, the free event was one of the UK’s first ever speed dating events held in a public library space. It was attended by around 30 people who enjoyed coffee and cake and the chance to meet and chat with new people, in the welcoming and familiar setting of a library. Wendy Molyneux, LiveWire Strategic Libraries Manager, came up with the idea for a speed dating event. Such was the unusual nature of the event, Wendy was even invited on to BBC Radio Manchester to talk about the idea. Following the event, Wendy said: “There was a fantastic atmosphere in the library during the event, and everyone looked like they were having a great time. Overwhelmingly people told us they enjoyed it and said it was a good way to meet new people, and that they hope we organise similar events in the future. Quite a few people made comments about how they liked the idea it was in a library rather than a bar or club because they felt safe, and it was nice to meet people face to face rather than virtually. It was also a great way to engage with the community and help combat potential social isolation – all important functions of libraries.” The speed dating event has been praised by Time to Read, the partnership of public library authorities in the North West that collaborate on reader development initiatives. Ian Anstice, Time to Read co-ordinator, said: “This is fantastic to see. The LiveWire Team has gone way beyond in order to come up with a successful event that looks like it will start a bit of a trend. It took some bravery to put on something like this and it is great to see it has paid off. Linking it so closely to Valentine’s Day was inspired as well. We know people love books and all the other services that libraries provide but it’s great to see love itself as a possibility now.” LiveWire hopes to hold more speed dating events in the future. < Newer posts Older posts > Celebrating Shakespeare Latest Libraries News Writing Squad Reviews Becky Harrison Carol Maplesden Caroline England Chris Everett Clancy Mason Emma Ferguson Guest blog writer Helen Towers Hilary Green Ian Anstice Jane Mathieson Joanne Eaves Josh Bollard Joyce Crossman Laurence Payot Lucy Ellam Lynne Scarles Melanie Graaf Oliver Wright Patricia Dixon Preeta Press Punam Ramchurn Rachel Broster Samuel Thornley Sarah Hall, Salford Libraries Sue Lawson Victoria Heyes Writing Squad Read an interview with Phaedra Patrick - Great North West Read author 2019 Meet Phaedra Patrick - the 2019 Great North West Read author plus more events The Library of Lost and Found is the Great North West Read Subscribe to posts in Latest Libraries News via RSS By Tom Benn	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line790
__label__wiki	0.682593	0.682593	Skip global navigation and read the article Skip global navigation and go to local navigation Skip global navigation and go to footer navigation [Change Text Size]Recommendation JavaScript About TMDU Schools & Graduate Schools Research Institutes & Library University Hospitals Research & Industry Collaboration Medical Hospital Visitors Dental Hospital Visitors Corporates / Institutions General Visitors Home > Press Release > “Breakthrough for Bone Regeneration via Double-cell-layered Tissue Engineering Technique” “Breakthrough for Bone Regeneration via Double-cell-layered Tissue Engineering Technique” Kengo IWASAKI, DDS, PhD, Junior Associate Professor, Department of Nanomedicine (DNP), Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, TMDU (Right) Ikuo MORITA, PhD, Executive Director / Executive Vice President of Research and International Cooperation, TMDU (Center) Akio KISHIDA, PhD, Professor, Department of Material-Based Medical Engineering, Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, TMDU (Reft) Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) develop technique for creating artificial constructs containing two distinct layers of bone-forming cells that can be transplanted onto bone defects, increasing rate of repair Tokyo, Japan – Various technologies have been developed to introduce laboratory-grown bone-forming cells into bone defects to promote their repair. However, these have many limitations as the conditions of the cells and their surroundings do not accurately mimic those typically found in the body. This means they cannot optimally promote bone formation. A research team at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) has now made a major advance in overcoming these difficulties by developing a technique for producing double-layered cell constructs that can be transplanted onto bone defects. The technique increases the speed of bone repair and the flexibility and durability of the constructs make them ideal for many surgical applications. Cells with various functions can now be cultured in the laboratory and then introduced into the body to treat different medical conditions. However, as individual cells can spread away from the site of injury, they need to be held in place on a scaffold, which is then transplanted into the body. Substantial progress has already been made in this sort of tissue engineering. When the body repairs broken or damaged bones, it employs a complex system of molecular signals and cells, including osteoblasts that build up the calcium matrix on which bone is based. To speed up the repair of bone defects by artificial means or enable recovery from severe injuries, tissue engineering approaches thus need to mimic this complex system. Fig.1 Schematic diagram of cell transfer technology and double-cell transfer (A) We coated the surface of glass substrate with tetraethylene glycol (TEG, brown) and the layer was partially degraded by UV irradiation to prepare hydrophilic cell adhesive surface (green). Cells to be transferred were poured onto the substrate and incubated to allow the cells to adhere to the substrate surface. Transfer substrate with cells was then placed onto the scaffold (amnion) in the direction of cell surface down. Cells were further cultured and transfer substrate was carefully removed subsequently. Cells are transferred onto scaffold surface. (B) Cells of the first layer (green) were seeded on the transfer substrate and cultured. Then, the cells of the second layer (red) were seeded onto the cells of the first layer. After incubation, transfer substrate bearing two layers of cells was placed onto the amnion to make direct contact between cells and scaffold surface. Double cell layers were transferred onto the scaffold material after the removal of the transfer base. “After establishing our double-layered cell transfer technology, we used it to apply different combinations of cells related to bone formation to defects in mouse skulls,” first author Keiko Akazawa says. “We found that osteoblasts together with stem cells from tooth-supporting ligament were particularly effective at promoting bone repair than equivalent scaffolds containing only a single cell layer.” Fig.2 Bone regeneration by cell-transferred amnion Micro CT images of bone defects 4 weeks after the transplantation of cell-transferred amnion. In the single cell transplantation (mesenchymal stem cells from periodontal ligament (PDLSC) or Osteoblast), bone healing was limited, while new bone-like tissue formation was observed in bone defects transplanted with double-layered cell-transferred amnion (PDLSC+Osteoblast). The double-layered cell constructs were also tested for their stability and flexibility. The cells remained attached despite folding the constructs or trimming them to fit the shape of a particular defect. Coauthor Kengo Iwasaki says: “The durability of these new constructs makes them particularly suitable for surgical applications. We have high expectations for their use in regenerative medicine for treating a range of defects using different cell layer combinations.” Fig.3 Stability of transferred cells upon trimming and deformation of amnion Fluorescence microscopic images of amnion holding double-layered cells after deformation (top), holing (middle) and trimming (bottom) of the membrane. Despite of deformations and trimming of cell transferred amnion, cells were stably adhered onto the scaffold material. Green (GFP): First layer cells, Red (PKH26): Second layer cells. Bar = 1 mm The article “Double-layered cell transfer technology for bone regeneration” was published in Scientific Reports at DOI: 10.1038/srep33286. Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) researchers developed a technique for attaching two distinct layers of cells on top of each other on an amnion-based scaffold. When osteoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells were used to form the layers, the cell constructs more effectively promoted bone regeneration after implantation onto skull defects in mice, compared with their single-cell-layer equivalents. This new approach has a range of potential applications for tissue engineering in the field of regenerative medicine. Correspondence to: Kengo IWASAKI, DDS, PhD, Junior Associate Professor Department of Nanomedicine (DNP), Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) E-mail: k-iwasaki.peri(at)tmd.ac.jp Support for text-to-speech (TTS) browsers Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences Graduate School of Health Care Sciences Dental Hospital Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering Medical Research Institute Institute of Information Technology Health Administration Center Support Center for Students and Female Staff Research and Industry-University Alliance Organization Research University Promotion Organization Research University Promotion Organization URA Room Sports Science Organization Institute of Global Affairs National University Corporation Tokyo Medical and Dental University 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113 - 8510, JAPAN Copyright © Tokyo Medical and Dental University. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line792
__label__wiki	0.683019	0.683019	Hikers tell story of frightening grizzly attack near Fernie TAMARA HYND, THE FERNIE FREE PRESS 07.05.2013 Brian Braconnier and Keith Farkas were attacked by a grizzly bear on Mount Proctor last Wednesday. The men explained the details of the attack, along side COS Sgt. Joe Caravetti, during a press conference on Thursday evening in Fernie.Tamara Hynd / Fernie Free Press A grizzly bear in Banff National Park. Brian Braconnier and Keith Farkas were hiking on a mountain near Fernie when they heard the eerie sound of a low growl mere moments before a mother grizzly bear lunged at them.Submitted / Calgary Herald Conservation officers in Fernie are searching for a wounded mother grizzly bear after two men were attacked on the ridge of Proctor Mountain. A sign warning visitors of grizzly bears sits at the entrance to Bridger-Teton National Forest May 27, 2001 near Cora, Wyoming.Michael Smith / Getty Images A female grizzly bear is shown in a handout photo. Conservation officers in Fernie are searching for a wounded mother grizzly bear after two men were attacked on the ridge of Proctor Mountain. James Roberts had a close encounter with a momma grizzly and three cubs in the Monashees thanks to a neighbour who left out food scraps with the garbage. A female grizzly bear and her cubs make use of habitat in the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park.Alex Taylor / Parks Canada The grizzly bear and cubs that arrived for breakfast when James Roberts was summer caretaking at a wilderness ski lodge in the Monashee mountains... / Submitted photo Mother grizzly bear attacks two hikers near Fernie Life and death of Homer a bear of a tale Single female bear brings new hope for B.C.’s threatened grizzlies FERNIE - Brian Braconnier and Keith Farkas were hiking on a mountain near Fernie when they heard the eerie sound of a low growl mere moments before a mother grizzly bear lunged at them. “We are so thankful we’re sitting here, the two of us, making these statements,” said Farkas on Thursday night in Fernie. “Rather than our wives writing our obituaries.” The two Fernie men in their 30s were attacked by a grizzly bear on Wednesday morning as they were hiking along a basin on Mount Proctor when a mother grizzly attacked. The men said what happened in 30 seconds seemed like an eternity. “I heard a growl and then we heard a second growl,” said Farkas. “Before we could even react, the grizzly was on us. She hit Brian in the back, knocked him over, took him downhill and out of my sight behind some shrubs. I couldn’t see what was going on. I could just hear him screaming my name and the bear growling. I saw a cub following her downhill and it was also growling. That’s when I reached for my (defender) shotgun that was strapped to the outside of my pack.” Braconnier said the bear hit him four times, and on the third time, the sow grabbed his arm and flung him through the air. “When I landed, I grabbed my pepper spray. When she came at me again, she was at an arm's distance as I used the bear spray on her. It deterred her but she still ran me over. In two lunges she was back up the hill towards Keith. I could hear him screaming but I couldn’t see a thing,” he said. While Braconnier was screaming, Farkas fumbled with the straps on his backpack, trying to get the gun out. Then, with shaky hands, he loaded the gun. “I saw her paws. I took one shot. She stood up and seemed to writhe in pain like the shot had connected with her. Like lightning, she was around a corner and coming at me airborne from above,” said Farkas. “She clawed me and pushed me back. I landed on my back in the most terrifying position with my head downhill and my feet uphill. I was screaming. Her face was one foot away from my boot and she turned around and left.” Braconnier said he knew then that they had to get out of there fast. They grabbed Farkas’s backpack that the bears had dragged a few meters down the trail and left in the same direction they had come, looking over their shoulders in fear that the grizzly was coming back. “We got to a safe zone,” said Farkas. “I was bleeding badly. I took off my shirt and put on bandages. I took a look at Brian’s hand. He had three cuts so I bandaged him too. Brian couldn’t see a thing. The pepper spray had hit him, the bear and me. Brian was practically blinded by the spray. We had an ok field (first aid) kit. I knew his wounds were worse than mine but I didn’t say anything to him. I just bandaged him up and said, ‘Come on. Let’s get going.’” Farkas said he knew that somehow they needed to get down that mountain quickly and get to a hospital. It only took them one hour to get down the mountain, when normally the hike takes two hours. When asked what they might do differently, Braconnier said he would be more cautious of noises while Farkas said he will practice loading a shotgun as if he was in a stressful situation. Both men look remarkably healthy but their wounds are deep, both emotionally and physically. Braconnier suffered injuries to his arms, legs and right wrist. Somehow the bear’s teeth managed to miss the main vein in his wrist by millimeters when she threw him through the air. His legs are scratched and bruised from being “bounced around” by the bear. Farkas has puncture wounds on both arms from the bear’s claws so large that you could stick your finger into them. His left arm is swollen from the impact and it does not have full range of motion yet. “Both gentlemen did nothing wrong,” said Sgt. Joe Caravetta, a B.C. conservation officer. “They’re smart. They were prepared. They had different levels of defense and they had a gun that wasn’t even loaded. The men were not hunting. They were out for a walk to do some scouting for their next elk hunt this fall.” Caravetta said conservation officers have searched the area and found no evidence that the bear was seriously wounded. He said they had ended the search for the mother grizzly as of 6 p.m. Thursday. The Fairy Creek and Mount Proctor Recreation reopened Friday morning.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line797
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__label__wiki	0.682148	0.682148	Rockford Park & Tower Historic Sites Wilmington, DE MoreLess Info Your visit to Rockford Park & Tower is highlighted by the 100-year old stone water tower. The rest of the park features a combination of large open areas, wooded areas with hiking trails, picnic areas and more. Winterthur Museum Specialty Museums 5101 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807 MoreLess Info A museum of American decorative arts, the Winterthur Museum is surrounded by a sixty acre garden. The museum features a variety of art exhibits, and hosts frequent lectures and other educational events. Delaware Museum of Natural History Natural History Museums 4840 Kennett Pike, Greenville, DE 19807 MoreLess Info Greenville, Delaware is home to the Delaware Museum of Natural History. This popular educational institution has collections featuring dinosaur skeletons, fine gemstones, mineral samples, taxidermied wildlife, asteroid fragments and much more. World Cafe Live at the Queen Restaurants 500 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 MoreLess Info Your opportunity to attend top-notch live music shows in Delaware begins and ends with World Café Live at the Queen. The now converted hotel was originally built in 1789 and provides visitors with the perfect blend of historic ambience and musical excellence. Rialto Theatre Movie Theaters 250 E Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090 MoreLess Info The Rialto Theatre is a smaller sized theater that is run mostly by local teenaged workers. The theater serves concessions and is known best for the integral role that it plays in the surrounding community. Bernie's Music Venue 125 Hillside Road, Chester, NJ 07930 MoreLess Info Bernie's Hillside is a pool hall and live music venue that hosts an array of rock and blues bands. The venue also hosts regular pool tournaments and other special events. The Atlantic Club Tennis Center Tennis 1904 Atlantic Avenue, Manasquan, NJ 8736 MoreLess Info At The Atlantic Club Tennis Center, visitors can enjoy a Pilates studio, personal trainers, tennis lessons, swimming, and more. This health and wellness center also has a zone for kids, a spa for relaxing, and the finest gym equipment. Bloomingdale Park Parks Drumgoole Road West & Maguire Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10309 MoreLess Info Bloomingdale Park is a 138 acre park featuring several walking and jogging trails in a lightly wooded area. The park also offers several sports fields, including a soccer field, baseball diamond, and basketball court. Saint Anthony of Padua Church Religious Buildings 901 N Dupont St, Wilmington, DE 30242 MoreLess Info Located in the heart of Wilmington's Little Italy, Saint Anthony of Padua Church, was founded in 1924 after being built by local volunteers. The church is best known for a yearly, week-long Italian Festival that routinely makes the top ten list of things to do in Delaware. Gardens Route 1, Kennett Square, PA 19348 MoreLess Info A variety of guided tours introduce visitors to the history and horticulture of the Longwood Gardens. Spread over 1000 acres, the conservatory area alone houses 20 different gardens, including the Orchid House, Camellia House, and Italian Water Garden.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line807
__label__cc	0.738933	0.261067	The only resolution I've really been able to keep is to not make any more resolutions. I started this a couple of years ago -- not because I intentionally don't keep them, I simply just forget them. When asked in February what my resolution was, I'd had no idea. The only real resolution I've ever kept was to join a gym, and that was back in 2001 when I found myself newly single. By "newly single" I mean it had not even been 24 hours yet. By sheer coincidence, two of my Exes broke up with me on New Year's Eve: Ex#1 in 1988/89 while we were out with friends at Lost & Found in DC. At 11:50 he looks at me and says, "I can't do this anymore." I thought he meant he couldn't stand the crowd and wanted to go home so I offered to get our coats. He said, "No, this. I can't do this anymore. You and me." "You're breaking up with me now?? Ten minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve!?" "Yeah I guess so. Hey this way we can start the year fresh with no baggage." And with that he walked away from me, leaving me in a stupor. And then the countdown came and I stood there alone while the whole world partied around me. It happened again with Ex#3 in 1999/2000 - probably the biggest New Year's Eve of our lives, when the world ushered in a new millienium. I rented a tux and sat at home waiting for Ex#3 to show up so we could go out together. He never did. We'd had an argument a few days before and he stormed off, projecting his guilt onto me (I'd caught him cheating). But I was willing to overlook it and deal with it later if we could just get through this big night. He never showed up. So I popped the cork on the champagne bottle we had purchased together on our second anniversary, took a large gulp from the bottle and poured the rest out onto the ground. And stood and watched all the fireworks down on the Mall. The next day, I joined a gym. But I digress. So . . . anyway . . . yeah, I don't make resolutions anymore. But anyway - Christmas (Un)Wrap Up Christmas was nice. Traveled home last Thursday night to spend several days with The Family. As expected, my parents' house is overdecorated, overcrowded, and over, uh, junk . . . food . . . ed. And I can't think of another place I'd rather be. Back home is a place full of food, love, and laughs. Mom had an open house on the Saturday before Christmas, and I think at one point, there were 50 people in her house. She said there were more there that day than on Thanksgiving - the main reason I don't go home for that holiday. When you're used to living practically alone and your social life revolves around just a few people, it's difficult to suddenly be surrounded by a large group of people, even if they are family: it never gets quiet, even for a split second, and everyone is just a tad bit more hyper than usual. On Sunday, my brother, sister and I went to my Aunt & Uncle's house - the ones who've been hosting Christmas Day dinner for the past 40+ years. They celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on Christmas Eve - 60 years! I can't even imagine being alive that long, let alone being married to someone that long. Since they are both in their 80s now, prepping for a houseful of people is taking its toll on them, so a few of us showed up to help clean the house, cut up vegetables, basically anything they needed help doing. Mostly they just liked the company, and its good to spend time with them. Christmas Eve I had dinner with my BFF, Jeff. Even though his house looks like Hallmark threw up on his lawn and Macy's had diarrhea in his dining room, he's still good company after all these years. We've been best friends for the past 20 years, and even though we now live in different time zones, we are still close enough to discuss his sexual escapades over a Cobb salad. Nothing says Christmas like a discussion about sex gas. Oh yeah, then I went to church. On Christmas Day, my folks and I went to my youngest brother's house to watch his daughters open presents. He then ended up cooking a pretty kickass breakfast for everyone: homemade waffles, sausage, bacon, biscuits, and an egg dish that is a tradition in my family. I'm not even sure how to spell it - phonetically it sounds like "ash-maa". The recipe was passed down through German ancestors. Basically, it's egg gravy with bacon and sausage pieces poured over toast. Its probably more like "clogged arteries on toast" but it sure is good. And we only eat it on special occasions. After breakfast, my nieces taught me to play Guitar Hero II on their Xbox 360. Once I put on my youngest niece's new Hannah Montana wig - I was a hit. The rest of the day was spent at my Aunt & Uncle's house. One of their grandsons had taken all of my Aunt's old home movies that she's been chronicling for the past 50 years and put them on DVD. So we sat and watched ourselves during the summer of '66, Christmas '88, Thanksgiving '59, relatives visiting from California in '72, loved ones who have long since passed, grandmothers who were children. There was an unspoken knowledge that this was the last Christmas we would be doing this - all gathering together in one place. With my Aunt and Uncle getting older and preparation getting harder for them, there's been a realization that a day like today probably won't continue. My parents host Thanksgiving, so I doubt they would take this day on too, even if they wanted to. Christmas night is when my family trades gifts. My parents have a history of getting me the most bizarre presents and this year was no exception. My dad gave me a coin counter. The only coins I ever use are quarters for laundry, so not too sure what I will be doing with this contraption. Mom gave me handkerchiefs because she said, "No man should ever leave the house without a handkerchief in his pocket" -- perhaps, I think, if the man was 70 or this was 1940. However I did actually get what I asked for: the deluxe George Foreman Grill. It was too big to bring back on the plane so the folks are going to mail it to me next week. Aces! Even though I had been home for about 6 days, I felt like I wasn't really ready to leave when the time came. It was nice to be around everyone, but I felt like I didn't really get a chance to visit with my parents because there was always something going on around us. I really like the one on two time I spend with them when no one else is around and I didn't get that this time. But all my feelings of homesickness faded when I met up with The BF at the airport so we could fly home together. We managed to score a row just for ourselves on an otherwise crowded flight (and the Exit Row to boot). It was good being with him after a week. After all, he is my home now. Merry Christmas, everyone. And Happy New Year! To understand what this blog entry is all about, click here: 2006 - Watch "The Devil Wears Prada" at my house with The BF and Jessica. 2005 - Get Christmas present from Mom in the mail; dinner at The BF's. 2004 - Christmas shopping at Pentagon City Mall; out to Remington's with Ex#5. 2003 - Office Holiday Party at my house. 2002 - Office closes at noon; dinner at Lauriol Plaza with Bruce, David, Greg and Aaron; drinks at JR's. 2001 - Ex#3 visits (4 months after breakup, mind you). 2000 - Holiday lunch at Cafe Asia with office staff. 1999 - Chi-Cha Bar with friend Rob C. 1998 - Dinner at Scotty's with Scotty, Ray, and Ex#3. 1997 - Christmas shop at Annapolis Mall. 1995 - Dinner at Il Radicchio with friend David P. 1994 - Paint stockings for Mom. 1993 - Christmas party at work; pick up car from garage at 6:00. 1990 - Office Christmas party. 1986 - Work from 4-12 (Braddock Motor Inn). 1985 - Work 4-10:30 (Camelot). 1984 - Speech final exam 7:00. 1983 - Audition for spring play; practice after school for Christmas game. 1982 - Rollerskating at Moon-Glo with friends. Shovel Your Sidewalks As you might have noticed, my blogging has been much more sparse lately. This time of year always finds me particularly busy with business functions, social gatherings, seeing friends and traveling. As I said before, I'll be slowing my blogging down after the first of the year, but I will try to be better at posting until then. Suffice is to say that all in life is good. If the janitor of my building would just shovel the damn sidewalk I might not have anything to complain . . . I mean . . . point out. Admittedly though, it is a slight embarrassment when the rest of the sidewalk on the street is cleared and your section isn't. It's nice to know I am not the only one who is bothered by this. When I lived in a house, I took full responsibility of keeping the sidewalks cleared. Not sure of the laws in Chicago, but in DC a homeowner could get fined for not clearing the sidewalk in front of his home. Perhaps out here its not a law, but it would be the neighborly thing to do. But since the building janitor has been historically lazy, I'm not surprised that my building looks more like a home for transients than tenants. But hey, it's supposed to be in the 40's this week too, right? So I guess the lazy get saved yet again, and the rest of us get slightly warm(er) weather. Everyone wins. Meet Knut Knut is a captive-born polar bear who was born at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin one year ago on December 5th. Rejected by his mother at birth, he was subsequently raised by zoo keepers. He was the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in over thirty years. At one time the subject of international controversy, he became a popular tourist attraction and commercial success. After the German tabloid magazine Bild ran a quote from an animal rights activist that seemingly called for the death of the young cub, a worldwide public outrage was caused as fans rallied in support of his being hand-raised by humans. Knut became the center of a mass media phenomenon dubbed "Knutmania" that spanned the globe and quickly spawned numerous toys, media specials, DVDs, and books. Because of this, the polar bear was largely responsible for a significant increase in revenue at the Berlin Zoo in 2007. Zoo attendance figures for the year increased by an estimated 30 percent, making the zoo the most profitable it has been in its 163 year history. In Any Other Language Now you can greet your international friends with a warm Christmas wish in their own native language: (Albanian) - Gezur Krislinjden (Argentine) - Feliz Navidad Y Un Prospero Ano Nuevo (Armenian) - Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand (Bohemian) - Vesele Vanoce (Brazilian) - Feliz Natal e Prospero Ano Novo (China - Cantonese) - Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun Sing Dan Fai Lok (China - Mandarin) - Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan Sheng Dan Kuai Le (Croatian) - Sretan Bozic Èestit Boiæ i sretna Nova godina (Czech) - Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok (Danish) - Gledlig jul og godt Nytt Aar (Dutch) - Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar Dutch (Netherlands) - Prettig Kerstfeest (Filipinos) - Maligayang Pasko (Finnish) - Hauskaa Joulua Hyvää joulua ja Onnellista uutta vuotta (French) - Joyeux Noël et heureuse année (Gaelic-Irish) - Nolag mhaith Dhuit Agus Bliain Nua Fe Mhaise (Gaelic-Scot) - Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur (German) - Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr (Greek) - Kala Khristougena kai Eftikhes to Neon Ethos (Hawaiian) - Mele Kalikimake me ka Hauloi Makahiki hou (Hebrew) - Mo'adim Lesimkha (Hindi) - Shubh Christmas (Hungarian) - Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket Boldog Karacsonyl es Ujevl Unnepeket Kellemes Karacsonyt Es Boldog Uj Evet (Icelandic) - Gledileg jol og farsaelt komandi ar Gledlig jol og Nyar (Indonesia) - Selamat Hari Natal Selamah Tahun Baru (Iraqi) - Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah (Irish) - Nollaig Shona Duit (Irish) - Nodlaig mhaith chugnat (Italian) - Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo Buone Feste Natalizie Buon Natale e felice Capodanno (Japanese) - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto (Korean) - Chuk Sung Tan Sung Tan Chuk Ha. (Lithuanian) - Linksmu Kaledu linksmu sventu Kaledu ir Laimingu Nauju Metu (Norwegian) - God Jul Og Godt Nytt Aar (Peru) - Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo (Philippines) - Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon (Polish) - Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia i szczesliwego Nowego Roku (Portuguese) - Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo Feliz Natal e propero Ano Novo (Romanian) - Sarbatori Fericite. La Multi Ani (Russian) - S prazdnikom Rozdestva Hristova i s Novim Godom (Serbian) - Hristos se rodi (Serb-Croatian) - Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina (Spanish) - Feliz Navidad y prospero Año Nuevo (Swedish) - God Jul Och Gott Nytt År (Turkish) - Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun Yeni Yilnizi Kutar, saadetler dilerim (Ukrainian) - Srozhdestvom Kristovym (Vietnamese) - Mung Le Giang Sinh. Cung Chuc Tan Nien (Welsh) - Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda (Yugoslavian) - Cestitamo Bozic The first memory I can recall was a Christmas memory. Or rather a Christmas Eve memory. My family was at my Aunt Jeannie's house for Christmas Eve. I was sitting on her mother-in-law's lap. I remember Nanny asking me if I was ready for Santa Claus to come tonight and I said yes. Then I asked Nanny if she would come to my house the next morning to see my toys and she said yes. She was wearing a black dress and pearls. The year was 1969. I was 3. But there's more to the story. I have to piece it together because I don't recall all of it. But the next thing I actually remember is feeling disappointment over the fact that Nanny had not come to my house like she said she would. She was neither my grandmother nor even related to me. She was my mother's sister's mother-in-law. But I invited her and she said she would come, then she didn't. And that's my first memory ever. I guess it left a great impression on me, because to this day I still take people at their word, albeit naively. In college, I lectured my friends once on the importance of following up on what they said they would do. If they told me they would call me later, I'd wait in my room for a call. Or if they asked me to come by their room later, I expected them to be there. I'm a literal person and adhere to "words are deeds". I try very hard to follow through with whatever I say I will do. And I expect the same in return. I think I always harboured some resentment to Nanny for never showing up to my 3rd Christmas morning. But on the flip side, she ended up making me a man of my word. Some of you might remember this song from the opening scene of Biloxi Blues that starred Matthew Broderick, Corey Parker (whatever happened to him?), Penelope Miller and Chris Walken (he's my uncle so I can call him Chris). Okay, just kidding. Oddly this version wasn't recorded until 1953 or so, long after the world war WWII. It's my favourite version of the song, as so many other singers give it a nice rollicking beat. Not here. This is one of the laziest musical rolls that could be given this song. It's slow, and that's how it should be. All other versions of this song somehow sound wrong after Pat Suzuki's approach. Now that holiday shopping is in full force, here are a few tips to make your shopping experience - and mine - a bit more pleasant: 1. Don't stop at the top of an escalator - people just keep coming behind you, so keep on moving. Don't stop to survey the land, take in the scenery, get your bearings, etc. Just keep moving! 2. Don't stop at the bottom of an escalator - see #1. 3. Don't stop at the top of a staircase - see #1. 4. Don't stop at the bottom of a staircase - see #1. 5. Look up and see where you are walking - it's not my job to get out of your way when I am walking on the right side of the aisle/sidewalk/hallway. Pick your head up and pay attention. 6. When you exit a building, keep in mind you are entering the flow of traffic. It's like an on-ramp for a highway. You need to pick up the pace and get with the flow. And no crossing traffic without looking both ways. There's probably more stuff, and when I think of it, I'll be sure to remind you. Hall & Oates Christmas Concert Tonight, The BF, Jessica and I head to UIC Pavilion to see the Hall & Oates Home for Christmas Tour - yes, THAT Hall & Oates. From their first smash in 1974, “She’s Gone” and those that followed including “Rich Girl,” “Kiss On My List,” “Maneater,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” “Sara Smile,” and “One On One,” right on through to their most recent Holiday recording, “Home For Christmas,” Daryl Hall & John Oates have enjoyed a career jam-packed with hits. At their UIC stop, they’ll be playing all the favorites along with selections from their newest Christmas recording. I pretty much grew up with these guys, remembering their songs from the 70's as clearly as music today. It's going to be a fun-filled night. The "Week 'O Fun" continues . . . Jessica of the Opera And so begins "Dop & Jessica's Week 'O Fun". Last night, Jess and I attended Phantom of the Opera currently running at the Palace. When Jessica first approached me about seeing Phantom, I was a bit reserved. The musical has been around 20-some years, and even though I have not actually seen it I kinda feel like I have because I've been hearing the music for at least that long. But Jess found some great prices on seats and I thought it would be a nice bonding experience, so I got excited about going. The musical was everything I'd heard about and more than I expected. It's just amazing what some people are capable of doing with their voices. I mean, I have a voice and it doesn't sound ANYTHING like those people. How can I have the same thing someone else does and it doesn't work the same way? I'm still not sure how candles come out of the floor or how a river is created on a stage, but somehow Phantom does it. The whole production was powerful with bits of flash thrown in. And surprisingly, the "cheap seats" turned out to be pretty damn good. And as expected, it was a nice bonding experience for Jess and me. The "Week 'O Fun" continues on Friday with something even MORE riveting. Stay tuned . . . Project Runway Predictions Come True So, at the start of the 4th Season of Project Runway two weeks ago (actually it was really at the start of the 3rd Season almost a year ago), I predicted the show would contain certain "types" that have basically become Runway's staple personality batch. And this season has once again held true to the formula - so much so that it's now beyond predictable to me. After watching the first two shows, I believe my predictions were spot-on: The Ice Princess. The amusing and lovable gay uncle. The pompous, overbearing Know-it-all. The mousy quiet talented one who secretly has a killer bod. The Club Kid/Pachuco/Street Hustler. The sassy black diva. The Geek. The crazy aunt. The snotty foreigner. The Insecure Older Sister. The grungey girl who needs a shower. The one who slips under the radar. The Over-achiever. The ??????????? The Bumpkin. Ah, formulaic television really knows how to "make it work". The other day, I'm watching TV - some kind of celebrities-in-a-group-house kinda thing - and one of the contestants was a self-declared "supermodel". Thing is, I've never heard of her before. And actually, I can't even remember her name. So I ask you, isn't that basically the definition of a supermodel: a person who has name recognition only by modeling. Cindy Crawford. Naomi Campbell. Joel West. Linda Evangelista. Paulina Porizkova. Marcus Schenkenberg. Gisele Bundchen. Michael Bergin. Heidi Klum. THESE people are supermodels; so famous I don't even have to post their pictures because you know who they are. And they all first became worldwide famous for modeling, and then branched into other endeavors, using their powers for good and not evil (well, maybe not Naomi). So I don't think someone can call herself a supermodel if I've never heard of her. You need to have a popular name too, a name SO popular in fact that you only need to use 1 name to be recognizable: Twiggy, Brinkley, Tiegs, Janice, Lauren, Elle, Tyson, Claudia, Niki, Christy, Tyra, and even (as much as I hate to admit it) Fabio. It must be a hard existence being beautiful and fighting crime. But these special people are the famous, recognizable, household names who have earned the title of SUPERMODEL. So if I don't know who you are, you may as well have just jumped from the pages of the JCPenney catalog. I Give Thanks I give thanks for my health: it has been holding steady these last two years. My doctor appointments have dwindled to just 2 a year now and all things seem good. I give thanks for my parents: they have loved and unquestionably supported me even when they didn't understand me. They are simple people with a rosey disposition on the world, yet they have accepted me and my life without a blip in the radar. As my mother once said to me, "You can tell me anything. I might not understand it right away, but that's my problem to deal with, not yours." For 40 years I've gone into battle knowing they both have my back. I give thanks for my siblings: the three people with whom I will share my life the longest have always kept me laughing; challenging my intellect; stirring my passions; keeping me present in their children's lives. They make me feel special every time I see them. I give thanks for my friends: a collection of longtime friends and recent acquaintances. Their perspectives and opinions have been invaluable in helping me shape my character and beliefs. They've been the family I've chosen when I could not be near my own. I give thanks for Ashley: the roommate from hell who I can't imagine never knowing. Seven years, two time zones, and four houses later, we are still roommates. It seems like he's always been in my life, sometimes my deepest confidante. I give thanks for Jeff: for being my own personal Horatio for all these years. He was instantly my best friend when we met in 1989 and he's remained so ever since. He keeps me humble and is not afraid to call me out when I deserve his honest opinion. I give thanks for The BF: and if you have to ask why, you haven't been reading my blog for very long. So at this Thanksgiving, I find myself incredibly fortunate and grateful for my happy, healthy and fulfilled life. I selfishly pray that it continues, and I humbly ask for calm to be restored to the world. Above all, I pray that more people understand the concept of "loving thy neighbor" -- because if that one thing came true, everything else would be okay. Just Because YOU Love Your Dog I'm a dog lover; I have a natural ability with them. My family had dogs while I was growing up, and back in DC, I used to dog-sit for several friends now and then. It was fun and allowed me to have a dog for brief amounts of time without too much commitment. But I don't own a dog and I have my reasons for that. You don't have to be a dog owner to be a dog lover. But when you own a dog, you have to understand that many people are NOT dog lovers. There are some people (one of my brothers included) who have a fear of dogs, regardless of the size of the animal. Just because you love your dog, doesn't mean that everyone else does too. Your dog should never get near another person on a sidewalk; it should be walking beside and close to you on a short leash. Allowing your dog to come up and smell me or even walk in my direction is not acceptable. And while we are on the subject of leashes - those long retractable leashes have absolutely no place on a city sidewalk. In the park, sure, but not on a sidewalk where I have to get out of the way for it. People seem to forget that sidewalks are designed for single lane foot traffic going in two directions: no bikes, no runners, no groups shoulder-to-shoulder, and no retractable leashes. Owning a dog takes alot of responsibility. And just as there are people out there who should not be parents, there are people out there who should not own dogs. Dear Twentysomethings: Pajama bottoms - or perhaps you refer to them as "loungewear" - are not to be worn in public. I shouldn't see you wearing them in Starbucks, the grocery store, the laundromat, or walking your dog. And I REALLY shouldn't see you wearing them on an airplane - especially while you are carrying a pillow. This is not a sleepover, its a flight. With other people. It's not nappy-nappy time. (I know this bothers my buddy at the [cherry] ride as well.) Wearing pajama bottoms in public tells the public several things about you: 1) You're disrespectful. Clearly you don't give a shit. If you had any respect for yourself and/or others, you would properly dress before going outside your home. Even a Walk of Shame ranks higher on the ego scale than you. 2) You're irresponsible. If you have to wear pajama bottoms because everything else you have is dirty or at the dry cleaners, then you must have a time management problem. There are classes and lectures you can take to help alleviate that. 3) You're immature. The only time I've worn pajamas in public was . . . ok, I have never done it. Children can get away with it, but somewhere around the age of, oh I dunno, 4, it's just no longer acceptable. 4) You're lazy. If you don't care enough about what you look like, what kind of shape must your home be in? Your bathroom must be disgusting. 5) You're dirty. Chances are if you haven't bothered to change your clothes, then you also haven't bothered to shower or bathe. You may as well just wear a sign that says "My body parts stink so don't get too close". Now if a fire broke out in your apartment and all of your clothes burned up, or maybe your ex cut them all up after an argument, or you were robbed and the only thing they took was your clothing, maybe possibly THEN it would be socially acceptable to see you walking around in pajamas. But even that is stretching it. Pet Peeve #68 Potbelly is one of my favorite sandwich shops. However they get two huge thumbs down (and so do the other sandwich shops guilty of the following) for not cutting the sandwiches all the way through. This in turn ends up making me cause a complete mess by having to tear apart a sandwich at my desk that is not altogether constructed well in the first place. If they are going to cut the sandwich, why not just cut the things ALL THE WAY THROUGH?? Bagel shops are notorious for this as well, predominantly Einstein Brothers and Chesapeake Bagel Shops. Yes - I happen to be a neat freak. No - I don't want lettuce and breadcrumbs strewn all over my lap/desk/keyboard/lunch partner. It's gotten to a point now where I have to actually request the sandwich makers to please cut the sandwich all the way through, and they look at me like they have no idea what I am talking about. I know their little game; I can smell it. I don't want to have to remake a sandwich I just paid someone $6 to make for me. 'Cause I can do that at home for nothing. Hey, there's an idea! So what you might be saying is, it's probably not a good idea to marry a man with the last name of Peterson? In 2005, Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, Conner, in 2002. And on Christmas Eve. Scott is currently sitting on death row waiting to die, all the while maintaining his innocence. Currently in the news, Drew Peterson is under suspicion of the October 28th disappearance of his wife, Stacey. And now, officials want to exhume the body of his third wife based on the suspicion of foul play. And Stacey has a small daughter. Her name? Lacey Peterson. I dated someone with the last name of Peterson once - Kim Peterson. She was my girlfriend in 5th and 6th grades (even back then I was pretty committed). Her family ended up moving away the summer between 6th and 7th grades. I found out on the first day of school when the school bus stopped at her house and no one came out. She slinked out of town without saying a word. Those Petersons are sneaky people. So if you're out and someone introduces himself and the last name is Peterson - run like hell. It's Baaa-aack! Tonight, Project Runway returns! And once again, The BF and Jessica will be my PR Partners every Wednesday as we count down to the Fashion Show Week next Spring. Here are the archetypes that have been prevalent so far on all the Runway cycles so far: So before this season even starts, it will be interesting to see who - if anyone - fits into the established mold. And click here for all the details about Project Runway 4. Safety Last Late one night last week, I was walking home from being out - it was around 12:30 AM or so. I tend to be pretty aware of my surroundings at night. For years I merely accepted the fact that I am a big man, so my personal safety seemed somewhat assured. But in these days where the economy is tougher and you never know who's packing a glock, I think it's better to err on the side of caution and be aware of what's around me - especially later at night when foot traffic is more sparse. Anyway, on my walk home, I ended up passing two different women, both walking with earphones in. And I became so distracted by them I almost couldn't think of anything else. How could any woman, walking alone on a dimly lit street after midnight, think she is in complete safety given the fact that she is blocking out all the sounds around her? When the sun goes down, the earphones should be put away. Sure, music helps make time pass more quickly, but only in situations where you may want to dim out the crowd. At 12:30 AM, there is no crowd -- there's barely a group. And even if the volume is on low, an attacker can be pretty stealthy before he's on you. Several weeks ago, a man was traveling through my Lakeview neighborhood assaulting women, possibly women who were walking at night listening to their iPods with earphones. I hope that's not the case, and I hope women take more responsibility for their safety. Went to see Lars & The Real Girl last Friday night. At first I had some reservations because it looked a little too kooky in the previews and commercials. But I like Ryan Gosling and, without reading anything about it, I thought I would just give the movie a chance. And it was a chance well taken. Having lived in large cities for the last 20 years or so, I was skeptical, at first, that a small community could wrap itself around one individual who needed help. But it does happen, and this was the underlying theme of the film - at least one of them. The culture of the town unfolds through brief conversations and small vignettes that reminded me what being from a small, close-knit town (where everybody knows everybody and their business) is all about. It reminded me that we all have our skeletons, and that one isn't really any more significant than the other; whatever our secrets or problems, they affect us all the same way. This film was about being open-minded, helping your neighbor, loving your family, healing from loss, and being accepted. This film is on the caliber of Little Miss Sunshine. And of all the movies I've seen this year (and there have been many), this would be my pick for Best Picture Oscar. 50 Things I Hate About Public Transportation As a follow up to yesterday's backpack issue, behold the 50 things I hate most about public transportation: 1. Constant threat of line closures and fare increases. 2. Not enough seats. 3. Annoying cellphone ringtones. 4. Annoying cellphone users. 5. Cyclists who bring their muddy bikes onto the bus/subway and drip all over you. 6. Buses that zoom past you because the driver is just not paying attention. 7. Traffic jams where you can see all the buses from the same route you are taking that left your stop in last three hours are stuck in traffic in front of you. 8. People looking or reading over my shoulder. 9. Unknown puddles of liquid on the seats. 10. Garbage on the floor, particularly items that roll. 11. Drunk people who insist on sitting next to you and telling you what a bitch/asshole their woman/man is. 12. Scratches on the windows, that obstructs my view of the outside. 13. Idiots who refuse to let elderly people have a seat, or just outright ignore them. 14. Racist morons talking loudly about how certain groups are nothing but trouble. 15. Anyone ignorant enough to use foul language in front of children. 16. People who leave their bags on seats as though the bag is a paying customer. 17. Backpackers who do not care about whose faces their packs are mashing. 18. Rude bus drivers. 19. Sitting next to someone who is listening to music full blast through cheap earphones that let all the sound leak out. 20. Chewing gum on the seats, floor, walls, poles, etc. 21. People who fart on the bus/train. 22. People who fart just before they get OFF the bus/train. 23. People who stare. 24. People who jam out to their 30 second cell phone songs. Then do it again. And again. And again... 25. Strikes 26. People who refuse to move all the way into the train or bus when it gets crowded. 27. People who are waiting for the train and crowd infront of the entrance so as to completely block everyone from getting out of the train . 28. People who pour on a bottle of cheap perfume or cologne just because it is easier than taking a shower. 29. People who crowd by the entrance thus not allowing more people to get in. 30. Body odor. 31. Bad breath. 32. Loud conversations especially in a language I cannot understand. 33. Unruly teenagers. 34. People who constantly play with their hair. 35. People who eat. 36. Same people who don't close their mouths when they eat . 37. Same people who leave the leftovers all over the seat and floor. 38. Perverts. 39. Sleepers. 40. Snorers. 41. People who use you for body support. 42. People who make out in public. 43. People who take pictures of you on buses or trains. 44. Ticket booth workers who don't say "you're welcome" when I say "please" and "thank you" 45. People who pick their nose and wipe their finger on the seat. 46. Anonymous ass-grabbers and other gropers. 47. The sick bastards who are so blatant about getting behind an attractive lady when the train/bus is packed, so that they can rub their crotches on the woman. 48. Pickpockets 49. Waiting 45 minutes for a bus only to see three in a row approaching. 50. Bad air flow Backpacks Off How is it that a person wearing a backpack on public transportation does not realize that he/she is taking up twice the room of one person? It's bad enough in the summer, but now that winter is upon us, and everyone has added at least 4 inches of girth to him/herself thanks to wool coats, parkas, etc., space on the train and bus is at a premium. Especially considering the monthly threats CTA makes about cutting bus routes and service. There needs to be a public service announcement asking passengers to remove shoulder bags and backpacks and place them at their sides while riding on a bus or train. This not only will increase space, but will cut down on the number of facial lacerations I get from zippers and keys being clipped to the outside of backpacks when I am sitting and someone is standing too close. There needs to be more responsibility taken by passengers who are unaware of their surroundings -- both where they are and what's around them. And just like on airplanes, passengers should only be allowed one carry-on and one personal item. These women who get on with three shoulder bags, newspaper, pilates mat, coffee cup and phone cause more mishaps than anything else. Remember folks, this is called public transportation; it's not your own private idaho. Hallowe'en Night As I said before - we take Hallowe'en very seriously. Great time was had by all: cool costumes, corn flakes, firm pizza, peeling skin, smelly latex, glamazombie, beers & margaritas, moss, leaves, blood and scars. See you again next year! Phat And Not So Fabulous Hallowe'en last night was incredibly fun. And of course, our costumes were cuh-razy great! Pics and details will follow tomorrow! Happy All Saints Day! One night last week, I caught an episode of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, which centers around the life of Kimora Lee Simmons, a self-professed model, mom and mogul as the head designer of the Baby Phat clothing label. I wanted to like the show. I wanted to like Kimora. I wanted to like her "fabulous" life. But I can't. There's not much likable about it. Or her. Or it. I'm sure that we, as viewers, never really get the true picture of someone's personality during any form of documentary. We are at the mercy of the editors and producers as to how they choose to portray a person. But regardless of how the footage is cut and sliced, Kimora still says the things she says and I haven't been able to like her based on that. I've heard her contradict herself a few too many times. In one episode, she embarassed an assistant by stating that the assistant's toenail colour didn't match the open-toe shoes the assistant was wearing. In the next episode, Kimora was commenting on a reporter's fingernail polish and how anyone should be able to wear any colour they want, because the colour is for yourself and no one else. Just this example makes me think that Kimora is either being dishonest in her opinions or she's just being mean. Either way, it doesn't attract me to her. The age old story of a woman overcompensating and trying to "have it all" is hackneyed. We've been seeing it played out on TV, in movies, and even in songs for the past 50 years. No man has ever gotten to where he is by himself, so I'm not really sure why women are trying to prove they can do it all alone. Of course men get help along the way; they just don't talk about it. And the Kimora's of the world - and there are many - need to realize that. Kimora is not likable. And I find myself rooting more for her failure than for her success. Happy Hallowe'en We take Hallowe'en very seriously in my neck of the woods, mostly because my partner is no slouch when it comes to creative costuming. Here is a pic from 2006 - again all completely handmade by The BF: Like I said, we take it seriously. So stay tuned for pics of his limitless creativity for this year. All I can say is - it's a a thriller! And have a safe, happy and most of all fun Hallowe'en!! Olay Definity A wondrous product that reduces the look of fine lines and dark spots on the skin . . . or so they claim. Do women really buy this? Both literally and figuratively, I mean. Surely women understand that the final look on this model is not achieved without great lighting, good photography, and tons of makeup. Surely they do. They do. Right? While I was home visiting the folks, I sat up late one night watching TV and caught several episodes of Ninja Warrior. I've never found this on Chicago cable, but if I ever do, I'll be addicted. It’s a physical challenge so grueling, requiring such extremes of strength, speed, balance and agility, that while more than 1,400 have attempted it, only one human has ever completed the entire course: Kazuhiko Akiyama, a crab fisherman turned medical clinic superintendent. The competitors in Ninja Warrior (also known as Sasuke) hail from three continents and represent a surprising variety of disciplines. They include U.S. Olympic gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm, who took home gold and silver medals at the 2004 Athens games; Bulgarian gymnast Jordan Jovtchev, who won silver and bronze medals at the Athens games; and several Japanese competitors whose day jobs range from fireman to steel worker to gas station supervisor to comedian. One competitor is billed as the world's toughest transexual. It's fun, it's tough, and it's Japanese TV. What's not to love? Recycling Reality Watching the latest installment of VH1's I Love New York; Season 2 (I wonder how many seasons its actually gonna take her), I noticed a contestant that I knew I had seen somewhere before. It seems Buddha was also contestant Ezra on Gay, Straight or Taken? on LifetimeTV last year. And on that same GSorT? episode, contestant Yaacov was also a contestant on both BravoTV's Manhunt and NBC's Fear Factor. (Matt Lanter from Manhunt has gone on to create a nice little career for himself, but not on any other "reality" shows.) Also on Manhunt was John, who was also Janice Dickinson's top model on her show, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (at least he's sticking to what he knows). And seeing as how Gay, Straight or Taken? is the proverbial springboard to everything else, Episode #1 contestant Mike was also a contestant on CBS's Big Brother 6. Another one of Janice's models, TJ, bears a striking resemblance to a contestant right now on America's Most Smartest Model, although he seems to have changed his first name from TJ to VJ and his last name from Wilk to Logan and has recreated his past. Ok, they might not be the same, but they sure do look a lot alike. So back to Buddha. Clearly he is not on I Love New York; Season 2 to truly win New York's heart, if in fact she even wants it won. Buddha, or Ezra, is out to be famous - just like all the other contestants on all the other shows. It's not about getting a partner, winning a race, losing weight or anything else. It's all about the money and the exposure. Which, in and of itself, is perfectly fine. But can't the people who cast these shows do a little research and at least give us new contestants so we aren't looking at the same fame-hungry, egocentric people all the time?? Maybe I just watch too much television. Broadway on TV On Saturday, I caught "Legally Blonde, The Musical" on MTV. While it postponed everything I had already planned to do, it was a guilty pleasure. And while I felt like I was saving myself $100 by not buying a ticket, it reminded me how much I love live theatre and the experiences and feelings that go along with sitting in an audience and being taken on a fantasy trip. I think Broadway and television should get together and do this more often. For many people, attending a Broadway show is completely beyond their grasp: the cost of the show ticket, plus the costs of a hotel stay and a flight to New York - well, that's about $1,000 right there. Now and then "they" say Broadway is dying. But think of the billions of kids who are never exposed to it. Things like what MTV did this past weekend would introduce Broadway and the theatre arts to all those who believe its out of their reach, perhaps sparking interest and desire in pursuit of something that was thought unattainable. I could have done without the commentary from the three vapid girls from the O.C. or whatever pointless show they are on, but hats off to MTV for a job well done. To understand what this blog entry is all about, click here. 2006 - Watch Part 2 of the Project Runway finale with The BF and Jessica. 2005 - Meet Lindsay at Blue Man Group. Have lunch with friend David C. at Joy's. 2004 - Rehoboth Beach Trip with Ex#5. Shop the Outlets. Have dinner at DIK's in DC. Drinks at Tom-Tom. 2003 - Flag football with friends. See "Kill Bill" with Ex#4. 2002 - See "Sweet Home Alabama" at Union Station in DC. Clean bedroom. 2000 - Pick up design package from Gallup. Dinner with friend Paul E. 1999 - Shop at Target. 1998 - Visit parents for the weekend. Buy new stove for parents at Sears. 1997 - Walk around Union Station with Ex#3. Go to Badlands with friend David F. 1996 - New Flow arrives in Gap store. Work 8-5. Date with Rick at 7:30. 1994 - Eye appointment at 4:30 at Hour Eyes. 1993 - Brunch with friend Micheal. Walk through downtown Winchester with classmate Colleen I. 1992 - On Fall Break at school with Ex#2, stay at Will O' The Wisp at Deep Creek Lake. Dinner at the Casselman. Play ping pong and swim. 1991 - Pizza Hut with Ex#2, Corey, Micheal, and BJ at school. 1990 - Visit corporate office in Beltsville, MD. Go out to Rascals in DC with friends Glenn and Jim. 1988 - Work at Ticor Realty Tax Service during the day in Annandale, then 6-9:30 at Accessory Lady at Tyson's II - The Galleria. 1986 - Work at Braddock Motor Inn from 5-10. 1985 - Work 2-9:45 at Camelot Music. 1982 - Babysit the 5 Sivic children. Cab Drivers May Not Use Cell Phones Who the hell do taxicab drivers talk to all day long while they are driving their cabs? The other day, I took a cab ride from The Loop to Lakeview - ended up being a 20 minute cab ride thanks to traffic - and the driver never stopped talking, in a foreign language of course. At first I was thrown because I thought he was talking to me and I kept saying, "I'm sorry?" and "excuse me?" Then I realized he had his bluetooth hooked in. I don't take taxicabs very often. Unless I am leaving the office after a 12-hour day, or it's really late at night and I just want to get home fast, I tend to use the bus and the "L" to get where I need to go. It's not because I am cheap and don't like paying the fare (ok, well that is part of it), but lately I don't like the fact that I have very little say in my personal safety when it comes to being at the mercy of someone who may or may not be an actual licensed driver. I recently discovered that a passenger may ask a taxicab driver in the city of Chicago to hang up or stop using his cell phone while driving. Yellow Cab of Chicago has posted a Passenger Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for taxi or cab passengers in the city: Your cab driver is licensed and trained to treat you with respect and courtesy. You are to travel in a clean, comfortable and safe vehicle. The most direct route or the route you request should be taken to your destination. A receipt should be provided upon request. Your driver must obey all traffic laws. Heat or air conditioning should be turned on/off at your request. You can travel without the radio being on. Smoking in the vehicle is prohibited. Please promptly pay your fare when reaching your destination. For your safety please use the curbside door to exit the cab. Please treat your driver with respect and courtesy. Cell phone use by the driver while operating the cab is prohibited except in emergencies. Please direct compliments or complaints to The Department of Consumer Services For your safety please use your seat belt. Please remember to take all your belongings. Granted these are the rules for Yellow Cab (which also manages Wolley Cab and Checker), but not all taxicab companies in the city, including the other two big ones, Chicago Cab and American-United. But you better believe the next time I am in a taxicab and the driver is talking to someone who is not in the cab with me, I'm requesting he hang up and concentrate on the street, the traffic, the pedestrians, and the cyclists. Oh, and there should also be another rule that reads something like: A driver may only use the horn when necessary to warn of danger. Then I'll be happy. For now. Last weekend, I watched Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of World War II. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, and the occupied territories of Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the Free City of Danzig. The children were placed in British foster homes, hostels, and farms. People taking in refugee children and feeding, clothing and providing shelter for them with no retribution and little reimbursement. Do you think something like that is happening in the Middle East? Some saintly person is risking his reputation and possibly his life, thinking only of the children and the possible hope for the future of his country and the sanctity of family? Someone who hopes beyond hope that the next generation will learn lessons from this generation, just as they did in 1940? I doubt it. The world is not as kind as it was. Even during a Holocaust. Female Sportscasters Call me sexist, but I just don't like listening to female sportscasters. The latest trend, specifically in college and pro football, is to have two guys calling the plays in the booth, with a woman down on the field for colour commentary and all the "how do you feel?" questions. (The only exception to all this is Gayle Gardner, and merely because she reported the scores and didn't yell them or try to be one of the boys. I miss her on ESPN.) Sportscasters as a group are the most inane people in media with incessant banalities being passed off as "insightful commentary." But toss a woman into the mix and no matter how enthused or spontaneous she might sound, she still comes off as though she's reading from a teleprompter. And, in a way, women broadcasting sports sorta pisses me off. Somehow, they seem like they are horning in on someone else's territory. I don't think it's absolutely necessary for both sexes to share everything. I mean, I'll never know what it feels like to give birth, so women shouldn't know what it feels like to tell me about a trap play or a sweep. Men and women should be allowed to have different clubs without fear of the other one wanting a piece of it. When is this theme ever going to die? Confirmed bachelor(ette)'s life gets turned upside down by the sudden addition of precocious 7 year-old child who teaches about love and responsibility. Gag me. This theme dates back to the days of Shirley Temple, and probably even further than that. I personally don't know any single person who's life was changed for the better with the sudden responsibility of taking care of child. Seriously. None. If those kids wound up on my doorstep, I would farm them out faster than you can say "Santa Claus ain't real," and go back to watching TV in my underwear. I'm just saying. Those Crazy Fugongians Nearly 500 school children in Fugong, Yunnan Province, China have to cross the often raging Nujiang River each day to get to school. The only problem is that there is no bridge. In order to cross the river, the children have to take the journey via a single steel cable stretched across the canyon. Children as young as 4 years old have to transverse the river by themselves each day. The children fasten themselves to the cable with a carabiner and a rope to slide over the 200 meter wide canyon. Occasionally children get stuck in the middle of the cable and have to wait up to half an hour in order to be rescued. Officials finally agreed to spend the $35,000 to build a bridge after a TV program drew attention to the dangerous situation. Example of how it is to cross this river on a steel cable: Children's Health Insurance Veto?? For the past 4 years, he's been killing our adults. But why stop there? Get them while they're young, W! How can you take an expanded health insurance program away from children? It's apparently not enough that he's been sending young men and women to their deaths in a war that doesn't mean anything; now he wants to stop a bill that would expand healthcare for US children. And he did it in his usual sneaky fashion: behind closed doors at the White House with no press coverage, which should have been huge considering this was only the 4th Veto of his entire appointment presidency. What where the other three vetoes? expanding federal research using embryonic stem cells spending that would have required troop withdrawals from Iraq easing restraints on federally funded stem cell research Yes, yes. This is the compassionate conservative YOU people elected, and then re-elected. Be proud of yourselves, America. Deodorant Wars Well, it's happened again - my deodorant has stopped working. Almost like clockwork, every 18 months or so, I have to go shopping for a new deodorant because mine suddenly stops working. It apparently takes my body a year and a half to figure out the code in each deodorant just enough to render it useless. And that time has come again. I've used Speed Stick, Dry Idea, Arrid, Degree, Sure, Ban, Gillette and Right Guard (I prefer gels over sprays and solids). For the past 18 months, I've been using Mitchum. What attracted me most to it is the fact that it is unscented. I prefer not smelling too perfumey - not because I am all into the "man smell" (quite the contrary - I love the smell of soap on clean skin), but I just don't want too many smells on my body at once. It's the main reason I never wear cologne or after shave (but that's a whole other blog). So now it looks like it's on to Tom's, Arm & Hammer or perhaps (sigh) Old Spice. At least for the next 18 months. Creepy Bus People There is a mother/son combo that gets on the 156 with me sometimes in the morning. Their relationship bothers me a little. The son is about 6 or so, old enough to be in school; the mother seems to be an older first-time mom. They hold hands at the bus stop (sure, that's normal), and hold hands while walking on the bus - him in front of her (awkward, but ok), and then hold hands the entire time they are sitting on the bus together (which seems weird). Each time, they deboard at the zoo. The really strange thing is the way she talks to him. I can't capture the tone, and it might not translate how I want it to, but she speaks to him the way you talk to a child you don't know, like your boss' kids. Today, for example: Son: We rode the 151 yesterday and had to jump a puddle. Mom: You did?! Son: Yeah. Mom: When you were with Daddy? Mom: Did you like that? Mom: I'll bet you did. I bet Daddy liked it too. Mom: You're such a good boy. Mom says that last line constantly. There's just something about the way she talks to him that tells me the kid is going to grow up to either sing Judy Garland medleys in piano bars, or cover Asian women in Wesson oil before killing them, leaving the 7 of Clubs behind as a calling card. And Speaking Of Side-By-Side Comparisons . . . He's baaaaack! Here's a side by side comparison of OJ Simpson's mugshot from 1994 after being booked on double homicide charges (left), and his mugshot from 2007 after being booked on multiple felony robbery charges (right). I'm a firm believer that you can't do a bad deed and truly get away with it. Let's see how this plays out. With any luck, he won't have R. Kelly's judge. Don't Let America Fool You When I first saw this month's cover of Glamour while standing in line at the Jewel (really, I swear that's how it happened), I noticed covergirl America Ferrera, the otherwise ugly ducking star of Ugly Betty, and thought, "hey now, America has dropped some major pounds. Good for her, but how will that affect her character?" And then I saw her on last week's Emmy Awards and noticed the weight loss was not so prominent. Pasting photos side by side (Vogue, left/Emmy, right) will show that Glamour, just like GQ did to Kate Winslet, has taken the heroine of the everyday normal girl and airbrushed her to hell and back. Here is a person who, along with the character she plays, stands up against what fashion has long dictated is the "right look". And now she is its latest victims. Young girls who see America and Betty as role models will pick up Glamour or Vogue or Mademoiselle and be barfing in the toilet within minutes. And no one is held accountable. Today marks my 2-year anniversary of moving to Chicago. Since then: 2 cardiologists 2 Super Bowls 2 gyms 2 volleyball championship tee shirts 2 games of putt-putt golf 2 Wright Brothers 2 holiday parties at Neil & Bob's 2 Oscar Nights 2 watch batteries 2 dinners at Ole Ole 2 gluhwein parties 2 seasons of Project Runway 2 blog designs 2 Vegas hotels 2 farewell parties for Matt 2 trips to southern Illinois 2 IMLs 2 Blue Man Group New Year's Eves 2 Cirque du Soleil shows 2 vacation trips 2 Volley Follies 2 Hallowe'en contests 2 "Dave's birthday parties for himself" . . . and through it all, I'm glad I moved. Stop, Hey, What's That Sound? If this dude put as much energy into redecorating his place, he might not be living in such a dump. But, enjoy. R. Kelly Is Still Out There - Guard Your Children Five years after being charged with child pornography, the R. Kelly Chicago trial had been set to start on September 17th. But a Cook County judge has postponed it because the lead prosecutor had a baby recently. Kelly was charged in 2002 and is accused of engaging in videotaped sex acts with an underage girl. Since his arrest, the case has been hit with numerous delays. A new date hasn't been set and the trial has been delayed "indefinitely". Since being charged, Kelly has had six best-selling albums and three nationwide tours. This man will never go to trial. R. Kelly has been arrested and accused enough times for us all to accept the basic idea that he has deep, ingrained pedophilic tendencies. Where's Chris Hansen when you need him?? That Tuesday I was living in DC at the time, working for a graphic design firm. I was walking to the office and stopped in the little corner store to get my usual quart of milk that I was drinking every morning at the time. The news was on a small TV but the sound was off. So I wasn't really sure what I was watching. I watched for a few minutes, as the building was burning and smoke was filling the sky. I entered the office and sat down at my desk. Nancy, the Production Manager came in and asked, "Have you heard?" We started receiving phone calls as rumors began to fly around DC. At first we heard that a plane had landed on the steps of the Capitol Building. And then we heard it had landed on the Mall. And then we heard another was headed towards the White House. My boss, the principal designer, brought a small television from her home upstairs (the business was in the combined basement apartments of two townhouses). We watched as the first building collapsed, and then the second. And we were told a plane had crashed in rural Pennsylvania (40 miles from my parents' house) and another had crashed into the Pentagon. The TV news was telling America that the Pentagon was located in DC. My parents, not knowing exactly where I was working in relation to the Pentagon (which is actually in Virginia), called me at work, frantic. The phone lines had been jammed, and it took them a few hours to get through to me. I can't imagine how panicked they must have felt. Outside the window, people in suits were walking home. Some seemed to be strolling casually,; others were running. This was about 11:00AM. All of us at the design studio wanted to go home as well. No one knew if it was over, if it was just the first wave, if there was more to come. I lived and worked 11 blocks from the White House. Anything seemed possible. I wanted to go home, pack a bag, and drive to my parents' house. We heard rumors of streets being blocked, so that no one could get out of the city. Was it worth the effort? Was it even safe to go outside r travel? Were there gases or poisons in the air? Would I get stuck if I tried to drive anywhere? My boss wouldn't let us leave. "Nancy's husband is out of town, Dop and Chris both live alone. I don't see the point". So we stayed at work all day, but didn't actually do any work. I think my boss - an unmarried woman in her 40's - just didn't want to be alone either. I left work at 6:00 and walked home. I turned on the television and watched the same scenes over and over and over and over. Each time, it sunk in a little deeper, made me a little sadder. That night, a group of friends and I all sat outside on the sidewalk in a big circle with candles. We held hands, we cried, and we prayed. The world as we had come to know it was now changed forever. We figured nothing would ever be like it was. And it still isn't. Sorry, folks. I just don't understand how this can be classified as a sport: two men, locked in a cage, beating each other until one either bleeds excessively, passes out, or - at worst - dies. All while a crowd is cheering them on. How does this differ from a mob, hate crime attack or gangland beating? Cheetah Gym My old gym closed last week without warning. And not just that one location - but all three Cheetah Gym locations in Chicago. The owner cited "employee theft and graft" as the reason. And it begs the question - how much loss does it take through employee theft to close a small business. The owner, David Wilshire, had posted an harangue on his company's website last week (thanks, Jim!) that was nothing more than a "poor me" essay on how he has nothing left in life and that he's lost everything. However, miraculously, all three locations - as well as a new location in Logan Square - will reopen this week. Wonders never cease. Sounds more like a case of a drama queen overreacting. If you have a chain of stores, and one or more employees steal, that's no cause to close everything down - especially when you've just taken every member's money for their monthly memberships. It doesn't sounds like the public is getting the true story, or at least all the details, about whatever happened at Cheetah Gyms last week. But I, for one, am glad I don't go there anymore. Symphony In Black I have long been a fan of art deco. Back before I really understood what art deco was, I fell in love with its long, sleek lines, chrome accents, and punches of black and purple. When I was a kid, I remember wanting to buy an old silver bus and convert it into an apartment. Perhaps it was art deco's association with jazz, perhaps its association with Chicago, perhaps it was the thoroughly modern fashions of high society puttin' on the ritz - whatever it was, I loved it (you can imagine my glee when black lacquer and chrome was all the rage in the 80's). And then one day flipping through a book, I saw Erte's Symphony in Black, arguably his most famous artwork. And I fell in love with her. The sassy fur hat, the daring bare shoulder, the glorified muff, the Morticia Adams train! I shuddered. I think it was my first awake wet dream. Tall and slender with killer purple eyeshadow - she was the epitome of garish style, taking her black greyhound out for a walk on its diamond collar and leash. I wanted to be her. Several years ago, I was at a drag show and when the curtain parted, there stood my favourite piece of art in the flesh. I was overcome by the strange feeling you get when you realize there are others out there who think like you do. Granted, no one with me knew what we were witnessing. But I was about to see my heroine come to life - albeit through the body of a drag queen. The music started, and without moving, SIB sang, "How Lucky Can You Get" from Funny Lady. I went all giddy. I don't remember the drag queen's name, but I thanked her afterwards for doing great justice to something I had long admired. When art deco makes another revival about 20 years from now, Symphony In Black will be hanging back up on my wall for me to admire, envy and adore. Some little boys want to grow up to be firemen, policemen, even ballet dancers. I just wanted to walk a dog. Search Under The Hood dopstagram The Yellow Wood The Passing There Melted Plastic Popcorn The melted plastic popcorn decorations were popular in the late 1960's through the 1970's and are enjoying a kitschy-cool comebac... The Male Barbie Before you gals get all anorexic trying to look like Barbie - take a gander at what little gay boys have to play with these days. No more ni... The "Noodle Under The Fingernail" Story I used to tell this story in bars, asking a group of men to each put in $5 and that if they cringed or flinched in any way before ... Open Letter to Carol Burnett Below is a copy of a letter I mailed to Carol Burnett about a week ago. Further below is the response I received from Ms. Burnett on Satur... Nip/F*ck!!!!! This past weekend I bought a new porch swing for my parents. As I was loading it onto the back of the truck, I felt a tug on my left nipple... After reading of Tom DeLay's arrest today, I discovered that he and I have the same birthday - April 8th. That makes me, Tom and Betty F... More House Updates A few weeks ago, I wrote about our new bathroom , the housing update project that took us the better part of last year to complete. A labor... God Smiled On Me Today A gas line needed replacing on the street next to my parents' house. The two men showed up to work on it today. One is a big, muscular d... Robo-rodent There is a mouse living in my house. All of my friends are well aware of my only existing fear on this entire planet. True it is somewhat o... Twink-le, Twink-le I saw my friend Brian at the gym the other night. He is about 26, cute, tall and on the lanky side. Brian got on the subject of age and he c... Thank you for visiting my blog.. Picture Window theme. Powered by Blogger.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line814
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__label__wiki	0.95207	0.95207	Tags:Copenhagen, Couples, Denmark, gay, gay rights, lgbt, marriage equality, photo, rights, Rufus Gifford, Stephen DeVincent, Twitter, U.S. ambassador COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Denmark has married his partner in the Scandinavian country that became the first nation to allow gay couples to formalize their unions in 1989. Rufus Gifford, the U.S. envoy since September 2013, is a strong gay rights advocate and often appears with Stephen DeVincent, a 56-year-old veterinarian, at his side. The two were married Oct. 10 at the Copenhagen City Hall. Gifford, a 41-year-old Boston native, wrote on Twitter: “26 yrs ago the site of 1st legal gay unions in the world. Humbled and emotional.” Later in the day, he posted a smiling photo of the two, showing off their rings: “In the land that created fairy tales, we just started our own.” Wire Report Hattiesburg celebrates first gay pride festival Man arrested in beating, shooting death of transgender woman Tens of thousands anti-gay Italians protest marriage equality German conservative party resists calls to embrace full gay marriage New Pope, no hope for progressive gay views	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line817
__label__wiki	0.505322	0.505322	Billy Masters by Billy Masters "Me in the clouds searching for @ZacEfron's nudes."—Gus Kenworthy's caption for an Instagram shot looking at the sky. Silly boy, you won't find nudes of Zac Efron up there. You'll find them on BillyMasters.com . Gossip doesn't take a holiday—even on Thanksgiving. While your beloved Billy was nibbling on assorted legs and thighs, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featured two women kissing. And? I mean, it's 2018 ... there must have been more to it than just that. Nope, apparently that was it. People online were going berserk after a same-sex smooch between two female cast members from the Broadway musical The Prom, a show about a group of actors saving a high school prom after the PTA threatens to cancel the event if a lesbian couple attends ( I haven't seen it yet, but I hear it's great. ) When the ladies locked lips on live TV, life imitated art and a few vocal people expressed their outrage. One tweet tickled me: "Millions of small children just watched two girls kiss and had their innocence broken this morning.." Two things: 1 ) I'd be shocked if the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade had 1 million total viewers, let alone millions of children, and b ) Are kids really shocked by two women kissing? In a story that will put the tingle back in your loins, my pal John Wesley Shipp has winched his considerable assets back into tights to once again play The Flash. "Billy," I can almost hear you crying, "doesn't he play the father of The Flash?" Oh, how soon they forget. Back when James Van Der Beek barely had his first pubes, Shipp was the eponymous Flash for CBS. Yes, now he plays the father. But in the '90s, our superheroes were much hunkier. For the fifth annual "Arrowverse." crossover, "Elseworld." will feature characters from The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl in a CW spectacular. The event takes place over three nights, Dec. 9-11, introduces Batwoman and Lois Lane, and features Shipp in tights for the first time since 1990. Well, there was that night I spent with him in Toledo back in 2011—but that's another story. Someone else used to tight clothing is Jeff Rohrer, who was a Dallas Cowboy during 1982-89. The former linebacker not only came out as gay, but married his partner of two years, Joshua Ross ( facialist on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills ). Jeff is the first member of the NFL to be in a "known same-sex marriage.". He told The New York Times, "If I had told the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980s that I was gay, I would have been cut immediately. It was a different world back then; people didn't want to hear that." You'll recall that 102-year-old Olivia de Havilland is fuming at Ryan Murphy and FX Networks over how she was portrayed in Feud. Despite lower courts ruling with the network, Livvy wants to take the case to the Supreme Court. FX is trying to block her, saying that her case is unworthy of the highest court in the land. Her lawyers think otherwise, saying, "Like the Colorado baker whose First Amendment rights allowed him to refuse to design a cake that expressed a message he did not believe, Miss de Havilland has a right to prevent false words being put into her mouth in a docudrama, just as with any other form of publications." I hate anyone comparing Olivia to a homophobic baker, but if it gets her in front of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I'll allow it. Remember Danny Roberts from The Real World: New Orleans? Way back in 2000, he was dating someone in the military whose face was blurred—back then you could be drummed out of the service for being gay. We hadn't heard much about Danny in recent years—except for an erect nude photo of dubious veracity which you can still find on our website. Roberts recently slipped back into the spotlight via an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where he revealed three things: 1 ) He's living in NYC, 2 ) he's adopted a 2-year-old girl, and 3 ) he's HIV-positive. Apparently he found out his HIV status in 2011 after passing out and waking up in a pool of blood. While he doesn't go into detail about the passing out or pool of blood, he said this about his status: "The last thing I ever want is pity. I just want people to know and be aware. I knew so little myself so I get it." Brace yourselves. It's time for "Billy's Holiday Gift Giving Suggestions." Each week between now and Christmas, I'm going to share items that I think would make great gifts for people on your list—both naughty and nice. To kick things off, we turn to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Each year, this organization releases a special Broadway Legends ornament. In the past, these have all been legendary ladies. This year, BC/EFA kinda breaks with tradition by featuring Harvey Fierstein. Of course, he's in his "Hairspray." regalia, so he still fits in. Not only is it gorgeous, but it helps raise money for this great charity. You can pick up one ( or a dozen ) at BroadwayCares.org . Perhaps you'd prefer something you can sink your teeth into. Then, I'd recommend the Golden Girls Breakfast Cereal. Is there anyone reading this column doesn't have a few people who you'd like to thank for being a friend? And what better way to thank them than to sit down to breakfast with Rose, Blanche, Sophia and Dorothy? The cereal is a multigrain flavor, blue-hued ( like Sophia's hair ), and available at Target and Target.com . Speaking of things in a bowl, we hear that Chaka Khan will be the grand marshal for the Rose Bowl Parade. She's even going to be on the float! Of course, I suspect it'll be hard to tell where the dress ends and the float begins. When everything's coming up Chaka, it's time to end another column. Before we hit New Year's, we've got scads of celebrating to do at BillyMasters.com—the site that can stuff more than just your stocking. Send your questions to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before de Havilland says, "Let them eat cake!" Until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible. Billy Masters 2020-01-08 - "This is 20/20."—Cheri Oteri rang in the new year as Barbara Walters alongside a stoic Andy Cohen and a giggling Anderson Cooper on ... Billy Masters 2019-12-11 - "I didn't bother going to school. I just found my inner pussy."—Sir Ian McKellen explains how he prepared for his role as Gus ... Billy Masters 2019-11-26 - "Well, I used to jerk off to Leonardo DiCaprio."—Pete Davidson in Paper magazine. He clarifies, "Uhh, like his acting. I used to have ... Billy Masters 2019-11-13 - "The booing is fucking us up. It's messing with everyone's mic. You can grimace and all that. All we hear is booing."—Whoopi Goldberg ... Billy Porter drops in at Sidetrack 2019-10-30 - Musical Monday at Sidetrack blasted through the stratosphere when entertainer extraordinaire Billy Porter dropped in on October 28. ... Billy Masters 2019-10-30 - "Gay is not a limitation. It's a characteristic that I hope they view, like I do, that it's God's greatest gift."—Tim Cook's message ... SHOWBIZ George Michael, Billy Porter, Michael Hutchence, LGBTQ-history film 2019-10-22 - The holiday romantic comedy Last Christmas (starring Emilia Clarke, Emma Thompson and Henry Golding) won't just feature the music of George Michael—it will ... Billy Masters 2019-10-16 - "There is no right or wrong way to be gay, to be queer, to be trans, and I hope that our community, even ... Billy Masters 2019-10-02 - "I spent the first 23 years of my life playing a straight man."—Gus Kenworthy's response to criticism about him playing Emma Roberts' boyfriend ...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line826
__label__cc	0.655095	0.344905	NSW Online Tax Template 1 (Left Logo) Template 2 NSW Certificate of Registration, or a tax invoice or receipt from the seller). Getting a driver or rider licence, registering a vehicle in NSW, road rules and safety, tolling and trip planning. Set your location to find your nearest Service NSW …Tax Today are Australia’s largest provider of Same Day Tax Refunds. Dec 07, 2019 · What can you expect after you've filed a form? junk mail or deleted messages folders for any correspondence from eservices@justice. Find information about types of taxes and duties including stamp duty, capital gains tax, payroll tax the health insurance levy. That’s right, you can get your Tax Refund on the Spot. print the form in A4 size and fill it in by hand. Call 1300 888 529 for more information or LawAccess NSW. gov. Please talk to Library Staff or call 8762 0222 to find out more information and to register. 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The NSW Government recently announced that it is cracking down on property investors who have either failed to register for, or understated their land tax obligations. 8 percent annually May 24, 2017 · It is regulated and collected by the NSW Office of State Revenue (OSR) and not the Australian Tax Office (ATO). "The work that we have done in terms of setting up this Federal Financial Online Tax Return Australia Tax Return Agent - Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Business Owners - Is Online Tax Return Australia in Sydney, NSW your business? Attract more customers by adding more content such as opening hours, logo and more. 1 percent annually over the next four years. Jun 25, 2017 · NSW is leading the charge to shift to a nation-wide consumption tax on gambling that could reap states and territories hundreds of millions by cracking down on NT registered online bookies. Long Service Corporation administers portable long service schemes in NSW for building and construction industry and contract cleaning industry. At Tax Today, you can get a professionally prepared tax return and then instantly have your tax refund paid to you. Example of when to register for payroll tax In the financial year 2018 to 2019, QLD and NSW had a 31-day threshold of $91,666 and $72,192 respectively. You can apply for a TFN: at participating Australia Post outlets. The amount of tax paid is $100 and 1. Find our top tasks, calculators and publications. This Budget delivers on the Government's election commitments, building a better place to live, work and play for the people of NSW. Find, compare & get quotes from all the best Maitland Tax Accountants near you, direct from the …NSW Government. (Selectonlyone. Preview / Print . 1. Tax Tools & Advice. The deadline to lodge your tax return is 31 October. Tax Deductions for Teachers: Uniforms and Protective Clothing. 00%. Do you earn under $60,000 a year?? You may be eligable for FREE HELP with your tax return. Businesses that create and fill new jobs on or after 31 July 2016 will receive payroll rebates worth A$6,000. Land tax on taxable value of land 8. get a paper copy of the Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092), including both the instructions and form, by either ordering online or phoning 1300 720 092, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Make a payment. Tax Today are Australia’s leading provider of Tax Refunds paid on the Same Day. Answer a few simple questions about your life, income, and expenses, and our free tax refund estimator will give you an idea of how much you’ll get as a refund or owe the IRS this year. The NSW government will place a 10 per cent tax on all online gambling bets when the state budget is handed down by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet next week. Online and in-person tax services for individuals, sole traders and companies. Natalie Evans provides a range of tax services to individuals and businesses from her Hazelbrook office in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, NSW. Special trust--meaning 3B. Register for land tax: You must register for land tax if the value of all your taxable land is above the land tax threshold, even if you haven’t received a notice of assessment. Rights, crime and law. Online Return Step-by-Step Guide 1. Finding a lawyer to represent you. Considering who to trust with your tax return and other financial affairs is a big decision. Jobs Action Plan. Information and services Find Office of State Revenue online services, help with tax compliance, tax seminars and webinars and tax payment options. Construction 3. You may be eligible to take out a FEE-HELP loan to help you pay your tuition fees. As Australia’s leading income tax services company, we’re aware that most people regard taxes as a burden. Rapid Tax Returns are our specialty. Jun 25, 2017 · NSW will raise $2. Taxpayers who own land in NSW and believe that they may have incorrectly reported their land tax obligations will not be subject to penalties on top of any unpaid land tax when they make a voluntary disclosure. Mar 27, 2018 · If you own a property in NSW other than your principal place of residence and you think you may be liable for land tax, you need to register with Revenue NSW. Find out about your civic rights and responsibilities. The official NSW Government website. Update your details. Lodging online with myTax is the quick, easy, safe and secure way for you to prepare and lodge your own tax return. Plus, find information about abolished taxes and tax returns. The NSW tax is on all wagers placed by NSW residents, regardless of where the operator is based. Most information from your employers, banks, government agencies, health funds and other third parties is pre-filled by mid-AugustLand tax is a tax levied on the owners of land in NSW as of midnight on 31 December of each year. Find NSW government services to help you or contact the Premier of NSW and NSW Ministers. Get your refund nowThis is our new-look Home page for the NSW legislation website—we hope you like it! The updated look and feel for the Home page is just the first of the enhanced features and advanced functionality we’ll be developing and rolling out over the next few years, all aimed at delivering better access for users of NSW legislation. Lodge your own tax return online in 3 easy steps and it will be reviewed by an H&R Block expert tax consultant. The harmonisation initiative involved Victoria changing certain payrollIf you are a NSW business owner, you may be eligible for a payroll tax rebate. That's how confident we are. H&R Block School ProgramThis version of the legislation is compiled and maintained in a database of legislation by the Parliamentary Counsel's Office and published on the NSW legislation website, and is certified as the form of that legislation that is correct under section 45C of the Interpretation Act 1987. au. Send Invoice. If you are claiming dry-cleaning or clothing repairs, you are required to keep receipts. Our tax accountants in Service in Melbourne, SA, NSW and QLD take care of your all accounting and tax related situations at affordable price. Don’t leave your hard earned money in the ATO’s pocket this year! Here’s the top 5 forgotten tax deductions as nominated by our accountants. Get your refund nowCall out registered tax accountants in Australia at 1300 768 284 or Enquiry@TaxRefundOnSpot. Salary packaging reduces your gross salary by the value of the items packaged along with any associated costs, such as the employer’s share of the tax savings and the administration fee. The Australian Taxation Office calculates the cost of laundry at $1 per load of work-related clothing, or 50 cents per load if other laundry items are included. Find all the best local Tax Accountants in Lake Macquarie, NSW. Find, compare & get quotes from all the best Lake Macquarie Tax Accountants near you, direct from the website. The asterisk (*) indicates a mandatory field. The Law Society of NSW provides an online search to help you find a qualified lawyer suitable for your needs. 2017 Stamp Duty Update in New South Wales. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will automatically issue your partnership, company or trust with a business TFN when you apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN). by post. The NSW threshold for 2017 financial year is $750 000 and payroll tax is payable on the balance of the wages at a rate of 5. It’s not surprising that doing your tax online is now so popular. Play Powerball, Oz Lotto, Saturday Lotto and more online. The VAT is a sales tax that applies to the purchase of most goods and services, and must be collected and submitted by the merchant to the Australia governmental revenue department. LAND TAX MANAGEMENT ACT 1956 - As at 22 October 2019 - Act 26 of 1956 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Long Title PART 1 - PRELIMINARY 1. email the completed and signed application and supporting documents to onlineregistry-support@justice. The new Etax 2018 online tax return is the best Australian tax return for these basic reasons: A fantastic online tax return that’s smart, automated, fast and easy to use. H&R Block School ProgramOffice of State Revenue (New South Wales) In 2016-2017, Revenue NSW collected more than A$ 29. Template 1 (Left Logo) Template 2 Bright!Tax – The Leading Online US Expat Tax Services Provider. Land Tax in NSW. Driver and rider licences. During each session, our instructor will guide you through the fundamentals of Form 1040 individual income tax preparation. To know more call us at 1300 698 297. If you're an employer who pays wages in NSW, you must register for payroll tax if your total Australian wages exceed the relevant monthly threshold. Keep a copy of the receipt for your records. Make sure you save this address to your 'contacts' folder. Explore similar businesses nearby : AJML Business Services Pty Ltd - Sydney CBD - Lvl 3 276 Pitt St Sydney 2000 NSW, Radar Accountants, Tax Agents Revenue NSW is offering an Amnesty until 31 January 2020 to correct outstanding land tax obligations. Roads and Maritime Services (Roads and Maritime) will refund a pro-rata rate of the motor vehicle tax or road use charge from the date the number plates are surrendered to the expiry of the NSW registration. a. Online services. 6 per cent of the land value between the threshold and the premium rate threshold ($3,846,000) and 2 per cent thereafter. Tax Today are Australia’s largest provider of Same Day Tax Refunds. Security checkVisit My Tax Refund Today for on spot tax refunds & Returns, Online tax refunds & returns, Instant tax refunds & returns. 5 million properties . Lodging your first tax return; Lodge online. View all our tax manager vacancies now with new jobs added daily!We have 19 results for Tax Agents in BOMADERRY, NSW available in the Yellow Pages® directory. com gift card. Concessional trust--meaning PART 2 - ADMINISTRATION 4. (court sealed documents and/or tax invoice), based on your The Small Business Grant encourages small businesses in NSW who don't pay payroll tax to hire new employees and expand their business. This tax course has helped many candidates get a rewarding job of tax consultant. FAQs. Taxation Administration Act 1996 4A-6. However, the threshold is also much higher at $850,000 (annual NSW Government. Try It Now, Its Completely Free!Support for people affected by the bushfires in New South Wales and Eastern Queensland. 6 per cent of land value above the threshold, up to the premium threshold. Name of Act 2. Tools and resources on taxes and duties. Jun 19, 2018 · NSW is introducing a 10% tax on online betting. Lodge online. complete an online rebate application form or print an application form and return it to us by: email - safetyrebate@safework. Quick Links. Employer Return FAQs 165. These include free land value searches, valuation sales reports and an online facility to lodge an objection to your land value. attach any other supporting documentation, such as a letter from the court, confirming that you are entitled to a refund. There has been a significant decrease in the values of Taxi licences across NSW and minimal assistance haNSW Budget 2019-20. Qualified accountants check your return and offer helpful advice… and they are on YOUR side; they don’t work for … Continue reading. Promotions. After registering for Online Services you can request access to your properties which then enables you to: Opt In for e-rates Set up a schedule for a single or multiple paymentsMyServiceNSW Live Chat30920707TAXPAYeR-IN-cONFIDeNce (when completed)SectionA:To be completed by the PAYEE6 On what basis are you paid. Note that you will not be able to reply or correspond with this address. The item must be purchased after you attend an eligible SafeWork NSW safety activity. You generally do not have to pay land tax on: your principal place of residence; land used for primary production. Stamp duty discounts will also apply to properties worth up to $800,000 as part of a major housing affordability package announced by NSW Government on June 1st, 2017. Register, manage and pay, and check service availabilityLand tax is calculated on the total value of all your taxable land above the land tax threshold. The current Australia VAT (Value Added Tax) is 10. Follow the prompts to renew the vehicle registration. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced the 2019-20 State Budget on Tuesday 18 June, 2019. Definitions 3A. General threshold: $100 plus 1. Or you can pay your tuition fees upfront by: EFTPOS; Visa; MasterCardNov 15, 2019 · Service NSW online transactions. Under the Totalizator Act 1997, the funds created by the tax reductions are passed onThe Tax Practitioners Board is the independent regulatory body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax agents, BAS agents, and tax (financial) advisers in Australia. Pre-filling your online tax return; Lodge with a registered tax agent; Lodge a paper tax return; Tax Help program. For more information on land tax, please: contact Revenue NSW on 1300 139 816; visit the Revenue NSW website. You can refine and sort your search for BOMADERRY Tax Agents by distance, specialty or service options. nsw. Our number one priority is ensuring you have complete peace of mind when it comes to all your tax return needs. NSW and Victoria enacted virtually identical payroll tax legislation with effect from 1 July 2007. This change introduced consistent payroll tax rules across both states (although the rates and thresholds continue to differ). Vehicle registration. Once you’ve registered or logged in, and entered all your relevant income tax information,The NSW government will place a 10 per cent tax on all online gambling bets when the state budget is handed down by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet next week. The Morrison government is looking at ways to deliver tax relief to middle income earners to boost the economy after the nation suffered its biggest one month fall in jobs in more than three years. All passengers are from the same Household/Family. Benefits of lodging with myTax. Notes: If you choose to pay with BPAY, keep in mind that it takes 2 or 3 business days to process, and the registration will not be renewed until TfNSW receives the full payment. Information and claimants declaration 5. Promotion codeDo you earn under $60,000 a year?? You may be eligable for FREE HELP with your tax return. 3 billion from taxes on gambling this year and that is expected to grow 3. The chief executive officer of the administrative division, called the Executive Director and Chief Commissioner of State Revenue, Director of State Debt Recovery Office, and Commissioner of Fines Administration,Find your ideal job at SEEK with 1,428 Tax jobs found in Sydney, New South Wales. NSW Department of Education logoITP Tax Courses: If you are looking for a rewarding career as tax consultant or you want to learn more about Income Tax then the ITP income tax course is for you. Individual Tax Return Sydney NSW Australia, Tax Return Online, Tax Accountant, Tax Agent Sydney NSW, Professional Accountant, Financial Advisor & Bookkeeping Consultant provides complete financial solutions as bookkeeping for start-ups, small businesses, corporations, non-profits, and independent contractors and tax return filing throughout the Yes that’s right. Etax. Etax won the Canstar Blue 2018 “Most Satisfied Customers Award” for tax agents. Quickly pay your liability or fine. Or do it online and we can pay you your refund within 3-5 working days. With the 2018-19 NSW Budget we're building for tomorrow and delivering for today. The threshold for the land value changes each year and is applied as follows. Lodge a returnAbout. This is our new-look Home page for the NSW legislation website—we hope you like it! The updated look and feel for the Home page is just the first of the enhanced features and advanced functionality we’ll be developing and rolling out over the next few years, all aimed at delivering better access for users of NSW legislation. Select the 'Renew online' button. Dec 07, 2019 · This demonstration will briefly show you around the online form for a Statement of Claim which can be filed online. Online gamblers in NSW will be slugged a 10 per cent tax on every bet they place in a new measure to be announced in next week's state budget. 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE Get 1 Hour Tax Refund Our staff at Tax refund on spot are qualified accountants and are experienced in handling all tax matters	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line831
__label__wiki	0.862056	0.862056	Woman dies in Spain as listeria-in-pork outbreak sickens 114 MADRID (AP) — Health authorities in Spain are on high alert after a 90-year-old woman died amid a listeria outbreak in the southern region of Andalusia that has affected more than 110 people. José Miguel Cisneros, director of the infectious disease department at Seville's Virgen del Rocío Hospital, on Tuesday announced the first casualty since the outbreak was declared on Aug. 15. Authorities have closed the pork meat supplier's plant and recalled all of its products. Cisneros said roughly half of the 114 people affected by the bacteria remain hospitalized. Health Minister María Luisa Carcedo said an investigation is looking into how the meat evaded what she called "strict food safety controls." Listeria is a bacteria that usually causes mild illness in healthy people but can be dangerous to pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. beverage and tobacco products manufacturing Consumer product manufacturing Listeria infections	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line832
__label__cc	0.717777	0.282223	Apple Leads Global Smartphone Growth In Third Quarter By Douglas A. McIntyre December 4, 2019 1:46 pm \| Last updated: December 5, 2019 1:49 pm Global smartphone production rose 9.2% quarter over quarter in the third quarter to 375 million units. Among the largest smartphone companies, Apple bested that by far. Its production rose a steep 42% to 46.7 million, according to research firm TrendForce. TrendForce experts wrote: “The company (Apple) made several strategic breakthroughs with its iPhone 11 series, including a new pricing scheme for the non-American market and new trade-in policies. On the technical side, the iPhone 11 series featured new colors, triple camera, better photo quality, and longer battery life, all of which drove up global sales. Thanks to the continued popularities of its new phones, Apple’s production volume is projected to peak at about 69 million units in 4Q19, with the iPhone 11 series accounting for 77% of this figure.” Samsung continued to be the market leader in units. They were up 4.8% quarter over quarter over quarter to 78.1 million. Huawei ranked third with quarter over quarter growth of 13.4% to 67.5 million. The reason was: “its increased share in the Chinese domestic market. In the overseas market, the company was able to stabilize its sales figures after the U.S.-imposed ban was announced in May. Huawei is yet to be removed from the Entity List in 4Q19, which will pose great difficulties for its overseas expansion with new phones. Fortunately for Huawei, the ban does not affect sales of old models released before May, so they are expected to continue to contribute to sales. Huawei’s 4Q19 production volume is projected to reach nearly 55 million units, while China-U.S. relations remain the largest variable affecting Huawei’s future performance.” TrendForce said the next engine for smartphone sales will be the move to 5G By Douglas A. McIntyre « Tesla’s New Sales Pitch–Federal Tax Credits Are Ending What to Expect When Dollar General Reports Thursday » Read more: Consumer Electronics	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line835
__label__wiki	0.895141	0.895141	z-news.link News of the World Home / sports / Germany – the opponents of Ukraine in the playoffs of the World group of the fed Cup Germany – the opponents of Ukraine in the playoffs of the World group of the fed Cup 14.02.2017 sports 154 Views Ukrainian women’s team tennis learned his last obstacle on the way to return to the elite of the Federation Cup. After a confident victory over Australia (3:1) Ukrainian national team crept close to the World group of fed Cup. When the draw for the “blue-yellow” were not seeded and could have played with Russia, Germany, Spain or the Netherlands. In the end, the rival team of Ukraine became Germany. The matches of the playoffs World group fed Cup Elina Svitolina and company will play 22-23 See also: In Ukraine for the first time shooting a film about Simon Petlyura The results of the draw for the playoffs of the World group of the fed Cup: France — Spain Russia — Belgium Germany — Ukraine Slovakia — Netherlands The Germans in the 1/4 finals of the Federation Cup with 0:4 on the Hawaii team lost to the USA. In that match, the rival team of Ukraine was represented by Andrea Petkovic, Julia Gerges, Laura Sigemund and Karina Witthoeft. The fate of the match between the national teams of Ukraine and Germany largely depends on whether agree to play for the hosts, the second racket of the world, Angelique Kerber. However, even against the optimal composition rivals the national team of Ukraine will have a chance for success, because Svitolina has won Kerber and Tsurenko to compete with a second room of the German team. See also: In Ukraine can significantly increase rates on deposits The only in-person meeting between the national teams of Ukraine and Germany in 2004 year in Ukraine with the score 3:2 won the German women. © 2017, z-news.link. All rights reserved. Tags Germany group opponents playoffs Ukraine world McGregor defeated Serrone in the first fight after losing to Nurmagomedov Putin congratulated the team “KAMAZ-Master” with a victory in “Dakar-2020” Vladimir Putin will play hockey at the North pole Rice has attracted the attention of “Manchester United” According to the Daily Mail, the coach of “Manchester United” OLE-Gunnar solskjaer carefully watching the … auto (2,650) culture (4,897) FUNNY NEWS (4,931) Incident (6,504) INCREDIBLE (2,967) Medicine (4,961) Movie (3,607) phones (1,152) photo report (4,432) policy (4,528) Science and technology (3,099) Video news (5,604) http://z-news.link Leave a link to the source.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line836
__label__cc	0.678188	0.321812	Missoula Councilman Hendrickson Doesn’t Just Quash Public Comment – He Ignores It July 9, 2007 in 2007 Election, Missoula, Missoula City Council, Transportation, Zoning and Planning Ward 2 Councilman John Hendrickson bit back at tonight city council meeting, attacking critics of his amendment (at July 2nd’s city council meeting) which removed the West Broadway corridor from the Northside/Westside Neighborhood Plan Update. The neighborhood plan, which underwent years of comment and input from community and public leaders, has cost Missoula taxpayers $15,000 in study fees and additional funding of an enormous amount of staff time. Hendrickson, who campaigned in 2005 on an anti-Broadway road diet theme, made the amendment to remove West Broadway from the plan in an effort to eliminate any input that the neighborhood plan would have with any future decisions facing the city on efforts within the West Broadway corridor. Neighborhood Plans, much like Comprehensive Plans, provide an informal guide to city staff, board members and elected officials when making decisions in any given area. They do not, on their own, provide the same legal standing as a zoning ordinance, but Missoula has utilized them as tools to reinforce a long term ‘vision’ for the city, helping to keep the city focused on greater goals over the long term. Tonight, in defending himself from critics in city council, local government, and the public, Hendrickson said that “as far as spending $15,000 on the update, there are no guarantees that when we do impact plans or studies that we will get our desired results. And it wouldn’t be the first time that we spent $ unwisely.” Note to John Hendrickson: When one does a study, one doesn’t presuppose an outcome to said studies. Studies are expected to analyze a situation without prejudice. Hendrickson went yet further in his own defense, calling for the 4-lane on West Broadway to be revised to “eliminate parking, bikes lanes or both so that the 4-lane could become a reality. And that the 4-lane could be implemented sooner than the 11 to 20 years as called for in the charette vision plan.” Nice. No parking OR bike lanes. Now that’s community transportation planning at its best! At July 2nd’s council meeting, Hendrickson clung mightily to his petition from West Broadway businesses (he claims to have 25 signatures), defending those businesses for not having participated in the Northside/Westside Plan Update meetings by subtly accusing the Office of Planning & Grants (OPG) of not sending out neighborhood notices to the businesses for any of the 4 public meetings that were held. He further questioned the sign-in sheets for the meetings, saying they were “questionable – OPG explained it and I take them at their word – but – it still raises a question.” Mike Barton, with OPG, questioned Hendrickson on the mucky-muck that he was proposing – to remove the business corridor from the plan – by asking him if St. Patrick’s was included, as “St. Patrick’s is clearly a commercial enterprise and literally houses dozens of businesses.” Hendricks plowed forward – saying that he didn’t see a problem with going forward with his amendment – indicating at first, when asked by Mayor Engen if he would consider removing (from the plan) just the businesses that signed his petition, that he “didn’t think that was smart,” saying he wanted to include the complete corridor. When pressed further, and asked pointedly whether St. Patrick’s had signed the petition, he reluctantly said “no.” Calling for public comment, Jason Weiner, candidate for Ward 1, criticized the motion saying “When there is a public process you don’t get to object in the end if you don’t participate in it. It’s like someone saying ‘I didn’t vote in the last municipal election, I’m not going to obey your ordinances.’ We have a collective project here and a lot of work that went into it and people don’t get to except themselves from it after-the-fact.” Question to all: Is it not a shame that Mr. Weiner even had to make that statement? Pam Walzer, who lives in the Westside neighborhood and is a candidate for Ward 2, also criticized the removal and noted that the previous Northside/Westside Plan was used throughout the charettes that were held for the update, and removing it is clearly problematic. She too was critical of the business owners who did not participate – and asked how they could not participate when they weren’t happy with the first plan. “These things were noticed. It wasn’t done in private. They had the opportunity.” She asked about the 25 signatures. “How many businesses are involved,” she asked, “Are you going to ignore the rest of the businesses? Do you have all of the private business? Walzer went further and explained that the Northside/Westside plan celebrates the diversity within the neighborhood. That it is not just residential – it is a mix of commercial, industrial and residences. Further criticizing the businesses that didn’t participate in either the plan update charettes and the West Broadway corridor charettes, she said, plainly, “You need to be a part of the solution. A part of the planning – to make things work for yourself.” There were no public comments in favor of Councilman John Hendrickson’s motion to remove the West Broadway corridor. Clearly, though, public comment is not an issue for Councilman Hendrickson. He doesn’t need it. In the end, while Mayor Engen tried to get the whole update to return, intact, to the Plat, Annexation and Zoning Committee, the vote came down – with Hendrickson followed by Dick Haynes, Jon Wilkins, Pete Reedy, and Don Nicholson standing their ground and voting for the amendment. Jerry Ballas – in a weasel move because he is up for election in Ward 4 – at first abstained, but with the vote tied – Strohmaier was absent – Ballas changed his vote to support Hendrickson’s amendment. Following the amendment, the rest of the plan, now a mess, was returned to committee. This week’s Plat, Annexation & Zoning Committee meeting is Wednesday, July 11th, at 10 a.m (until noon.) It’s unclear whether they will be discussing the update this week. Gotta love those afternoon meetings. If you want to contact your city council, go here for more information. P.S. In a final twist of irony, champion of the public and neighborhood councils everywhere Councilman Jon Wilkins took the opportunity during final comments at tonight’s (July 9th) council meeting to “remind people that if you want to get involved in what’s going on in your neighborhood, join your neighborhood councils – they’re great.” Thanks Jon – I’ll keep that in mind. Jay Stevens Ugh! No public comments in support of the amendment — and it passed?? Does anyone know who these 25 businesses are? jhwygirl I’m guessing he has maybe a half-dozen or so businesses, with signatures from not only owners, but every employee who works there. He’s been pressed on this before, but has yet to reveal his ‘list’. I’m wonder how many of those businesses have been open for 3 years or more. All new businesses struggle. Someone that’s barely been around in that area would have little to blame the Diet on, IMHO. Moorcat This sound errily familiar to the antics seen every meeting with the Dillon City Council. You have my heartfelt sympathy and I hope things work out better next time. It is also REALLY nice to see other bloggers taking a closer look at thier local city governments I’ve admired your stuff for a while now Moorcat. love fest Word up, AR! You know, you could have your own blog, too, instead of trolling the comment section of liberal blogs. It might be interesting to actually hear some constructive and individual opinions from you, instead of withstanding your attempts to drag us down into mediocrity. 1 The Best of Ward 2 Incumbent John Hendrickson « 4&20 blackbirds Pingback on Sep 30th, 2009 at 8:55 am […] So in an effort to save what may be some newer locals (hopefully they are registered voters in Ward 2), I thought I’d recap some of the best of Councilperson John Hendrickson over the last couple years: Missoula Councilman Hendrickson Doesn’t Just Quash Public Comment, He Ignores It […] « Stimson Workers Question Whether the Company Did Enough to Save Their Jobs Missoula and the Hmong » Leave a Reply to Ayn Rand Cancel reply	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line840
__label__wiki	0.980846	0.980846	Joe Biden defends himself, son Hunter on Ukraine during Democratic debate following Trump accusations WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Joe Biden defended both his actions and those of his son in dealing with Ukraine during Tuesday night's Democratic debate on CNN in Westerville, Ohio. The former vice president said his son Hunter "did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong." Moderator Anderson Cooper asked Biden a question about why he has pledged that no members of his family would engage in foreign deals if he were to be elected president while insisting his son's dealings with foreign countries were above board during Biden's vice presidency. "President Trump has falsely accused your son of doing something wrong while serving on a company board in Ukraine. I want to point out there is no evidence of wrongdoing by either one of you," Cooper said. He then asked Biden about why it was okay for his family or associations to have served on foreign boards while he served as vice president. "I carried out the policy of the U.S. government routing out corruption in Ukraine, and that's what we should be focusing on," Biden said. Biden said he was "proud of the judgement" his son made, and "proud of what he had to say," and emphasized they had always kept their professional and personal lives separate to avoid conflicts of interest. "I did my job, I never discussed a single thing with my son having to do with Ukraine, no one has indicated I had," he added later. "We've always kept everything separate, even when my son was the attorney general of the state of Delaware, we never discussed it so there would be no potential conflict." President Donald Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry over his effort to have Ukraine investigate Biden. Biden urged that the focus go back on Trump, saying, "Rudy Giuliani, the president and his thugs have already proven the fact that they are flat lying." "He's going after me because he knows that if I get the nomination I will beat him like a drum," Biden said. politicsdebatejoe bidenu.s. & world2020 presidential electionpresident donald trump NY Times endorses 2 candidates in Democratic contest Andrew Yang's wife details alleged sexual assault by doctor FACT CHECK: Claims from Trump rally, Democratic debate	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line844
__label__cc	0.689923	0.310077	Tag Archives: NHS Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill is replacing the current safeguards system known as the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) with the new ‘Liberty Protection Safeguards’ for people with dementia and other mental incapacities who cannot make important decisions about their care. The new system will look to streamline the safeguarding process and help vulnerable people access legal protections. In anticipation of the Bill’s arrival in the Commons, I have held conversations with Stockport Council to hear their concerns about the proposed changes. Earlier this month I raised these concerns with the Caroline Dineage, the Health Minister in Parliament. The Minister provided me with a short brief. You can read this brief here, which details the proposed changes through the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill. I strongly believe that we must not impose unnecessary restrictions on the freedoms of those left vulnerable by their dementia and mental incapacity. However, it is also important that we have a robust system in place which protects them and their families from any undue stress. Under the previous DoLS system, there is still a backlog of 125,000 applications for assessment, these delays can leave people waiting for an assessment in a vulnerable position. It also means that resources that could have been spent on social care are being spent on the bureaucracy of multiple assessments as every time, somebody moves from a care home to a hospital they need an assessment and as they move from a hospital back to a care home another assessment. Many of you have written to me concerned about any potential conflicts of interest between care-providers and hospitals and the individuals need for an independent assessment. The issue of assessments and care providers was debated on January 15th. The Government are in favour of removing a conflict of interest as outlined by Caroline Dinenage where she expressed – “in independent hospital cases, an approved mental capacity professional must complete that review—that is a duty—and if an independent hospital as a responsible body fails to do that, it would be in clear breach of its responsibilities and could be subject to legal challenge.” If you have a further interest in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill’s progress through the Commons you can follow updates here. Comments Off on Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill Tags: Correspondence with ministers, DoLS, Legislation, Mental Health, NHS Deaths of missing people could be prevented 19th July 2018 by Jake Hill Thursday July 19 2018 Hundreds of lives are being put at risk each year because adults with mental health problems are ‘found and forgotten’ after going missing, according to a Parliamentary Inquiry. Ann Coffey – head of the ‘Inquiry into safeguarding missing adults who have mental health issues’ by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults – said that going missing should be a ‘red flag moment’ which ought to trigger help. But instead tens of thousands of adults nationally are left alone and isolated with no support on their return home. There are about 126,000 incidents of adults going missing annually. Up to 600 missing people a year are found dead: the most commonly known cause being suicide. The inquiry heard that about 80 per cent of adults who go missing are experiencing mental health problems and up to one third go missing again. Tags: APPG, Mental Health, Missing People, NHS MP Praises health project co-designed by children PRESS RELEASE FROM ANN COFFEY MP (Picture attached: Ann Coffey presented awards to children from St Anne’s in Stockport) Ann Coffey MP has praised as ‘trailblazers’ young people who worked as equal partners with professionals in designing an innovative health project. The MP for Stockport presented awards at Salford University MediaCityUK to pupils from St Anne’s in Stockport for their contribution to the ‘Not Just a Thought…’ project. Tags: Children and young people, Mental Health, NHS, Schools Pure Muscle Growth on Interview with Radio 5 Live, Children Missing from Care relevant internet site on Interview with Radio 5 Live, Children Missing from Care Botanic Releaf - Get Fast Relief From Chronic Pain! \| Special Offer on Teachers on the frontline in the fight against CSE samovar restaurant on Owners of aggressive dogs should fit letter box guards Jenna Jameson Videos on Teachers on the frontline in the fight against CSE	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line846
__label__cc	0.620434	0.379566	Canyonlands, Part 2: Arrival at Needles, the Best Campground in the World, and the Massive Chesler Park Loop/Joint Trail/Druid Arch Hike This is going to be a long post because I need to tell you about both our campsite and the most amazing hike ever. We arrived at the second section of the park – Needles – just as the sun was setting and pulled into Needles Outpost, a campground literally just outside the park border. Though it was nearly 8pm and after operating hours, the owner Tracey came out to welcome us. She told us the best site (#4 – and she was completely on target) and gave us tokens for the shower – yes, a SHOWER – which is the best thing you can provide someone after hiking days in 100 degree temps. She was awesome. And hilarious. And (rightfully) really enthusiastic about the sunset. Other than running water and seclusion of the site, which is nestled in a bend in the stone outcropping, the campground was perfect as we were pretty much the only people there. We almost instantly decided to stay another night rather than backcountry camp in the park the next night. If you are ever looking to camp in Needles I would recommend this place. Campsite at Needles Outpost, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Now you will need to prepare yourself, because you are going to be getting a lot of pictures from the next day’s hike. Leaving from Elephant Hill Trailhead, we did the 11 mile Chesler Park Loop, which includes the Joint Trail, and added on the 4 mile (roundtrip) spur to Druid Arch. I’m going to have to ask you for a promise: if you hike and are ever in Needles, DO THE CHESLER PARK LOOP AND JOINT TRAIL. The Needles section of the park is named for the hoodoos, or spires, which resemble needles. This trail leads directly into their midst, allowing you to climb over, around, and through them. The drive to Elephant Trailhead showing the cluster hoodoos we were about to hike into, Canyonlands National Park, Utah This hike was pretty close to magical and I’m not exaggerating. Just when you thought it couldn’t be more amazing you’d be proved wrong. Hopefully my pictures will explain my enthusiasm and liberal use of caps. The hike first leads you across the mesa into the forest of hoodoos and rock fins, past a small canyon, through a joint in the rock, and into a plain encircled by these otherworldly formations. Then you get to start really climbing on the sandstone and slickrock for a while until you finally break into the open space of Chesler Park, which is framed by towering sandstone. After crossing the clearing you then descend into the rock joint – which is barely shoulder width – and which continues for more than HALF A MILE. Hoodoos, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Closeup of hoodoos and rock formations, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Small hoodoo balancing on larger hoodoo, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Rock fins on the mesa, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Fins with hoodoos in foreground, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Climbing the sandstone, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Sandstone formation, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah View behind me after breaking out of the cluster of fins and hoodoos, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Another view behind me after climbing above hoodoos and past fins, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Chesler Park under rainy skies, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Joint Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Rachel hiking ahead of me in Joint Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah A climb within the Joint Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Emerging from the Joint Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah After emerging from the narrow slot canyon, we returned to the slickrock and hoodoos, crossed a wash, and then came upon another trailhead accessible from a 4 wheel drive road. This is notable because our arrival coincided with a guided tour group with A LARGE CONTAINER OF ICE WATER that was ever so kindly offered to us. We’d been hiking for almost 4 hours by then and even though it was overcast it was pretty hot being the desert an all. I am going to have to recommend ice water appear midway for all desert hikes. We returned through the Joint Trail and, after more hoodoos and rock formations, met up with the spur to Druid Arch. The spur follows the wash in Elephant Canyon and was, as a very nice ranger explained it, “a bit of a slog” through the sand. Slightly unfortunate was that this slog occurred just as the sun was making a very strong appearance. The temperatures quickly rose as we trudged on through the scenic but sandy wash that ended with a steep rock climb up to the arch. I overheated near the end of the spur and only recovered with a rest, water, and some food in the shade by the arch. Thankfully the return through the canyon was a bit more shaded and gave me more time to rehydrate since it was almost 5 miles to get back to the trailhead from the arch. Tracey said temperatures had reached 103 that day so I guess I’m not surprised. After the exit from the wash, the trail once again led through forests of hoodoos and returned to familiar terrain before joining the last mile and half with our original trail. It was an incredible day. See that cairn? Uh-huh, this was part of the trail across slickrock. Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Rachel modeling under the boulders, Chesler Park Loop Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Trail in the wash of Elephant Canyon, Druid Arch Spur Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Druid Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah View of Elephant Canyon from near rim next to Druid Arch, Druid Arch Spur Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah So, did I convince you to go? Category : hiking, slot canyons, Utah Tags : Canyonlands National Park, Chesler Park and Joint Trail Loop, Utah ← Canyonlands National Park, Part 1: Island in the Sky Canyonlands, Part 3: The Rest of Needles. And Newspaper Rock. → 7 thoughts on “Canyonlands, Part 2: Arrival at Needles, the Best Campground in the World, and the Massive Chesler Park Loop/Joint Trail/Druid Arch Hike” Pingback: Top Ten Favorite Hikes \| Another Walk in the Park liz on September 27, 2013 at 8:41 am said: must. visit. that. campground. Meghan on September 27, 2013 at 10:50 am said: Yes! It was the best campground ever! RED BALLOON on September 23, 2013 at 10:57 am said: My whole family, including grandparents, keep telling me how much they love your blog and especially the pictures! Meghan on September 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm said: Thanks, Carrie’s whole family! Glad you’re enjoying and thanks for reading! ashleypaige4 on September 20, 2013 at 1:23 pm said: Absolutely AMAZING photos! Thank you, Paige! You are too kind!	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line848
__label__cc	0.501285	0.498715	Ideal Musings Where ideal is subjective About the Ideal Muser Football, Real Madrid, Uncategorized Hala ……..! I have been actively hooked onto football for a really long time now. However, the first real tournament I followed was the 1998 World Cup. Just before this I was badly hooked to FIFA ’98 which I still think is one of the best football games ever! We hardly used to get a lot of football on TV before that. After that I have watched every major tournament that has been aired all these years. It was around the same time that I got a taste of club football. The Manchester Uniteds’, the Barcelonas’, the Juventus’, Newcastle Uniteds’ (yes it was awesome then), the Chelseas’ (it quite sucked back then) of the world were all new and the fact that teams other than nations were playing was somewhat weird. The fact that not many people watched all this didn’t help increase my knowledge (quite different from now ain’t it?). But one team that somehow caught my fancy was Real Madrid Club de Futbol; it had just won the Champions League in 1998 (which I didn’t even know existed), and would win it again in 2000 (which I DID watch). It’s been 11 years, 3 World Cups, 3 European Championships, 11 Champions League, and 11 La Ligas of which I have watched all. The two teams I support, national and club, are Italy and Real Madrid. In these 11 years, Italy has won the World Cup in 2006 and reached the finals of the European Championship in 2000 losing to France in extra time. Real Madrid, has won the Champions League twice (not counting the 1998 season), been the La Liga champions 4 times and runners up 4 times; and I have watched every one of these. It has been 11 years and I still love this club. Right when it was captained by Fernando Hierro with team mates like Raul, Roberto Carlos, Clarence Seedorf, Davor Suker, Fernando Morientes, Fernando Redondo and 17 year old called Iker Casillas; then captained by Raul and players like Carlos, Figo, Beckham, Casillas, Ronaldo, Owen (yes, Michael Owen) and the best ever – Zinedine Zidane; right upto now, still captained by Raul and supported by Casillas (who is still only 28 and the captain of Spain), Van Nistelrooy, Cannavaro, Robben, Segio Ramos, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Pepe and the latest confirmed signing Kaka (don’t want to comment on Ronaldo right now)! It has not been the best of clubs to support for the only fact that you don’t get many people on your side. You either like Real Madrid or you hate them and around here, people are too obsessed with watching the EPL (which in my opinion is only the second best league) to like Real Madrid. Yes, it does not have the best defence, it has never had, but this is not because they didn’t have enough money to splurge on defence, but because investing in defence is not what Real Madrid does. They invest in attacking players who are magicians on the pitch, defenders have never been heroes in Madrid (apart from Casillas, who should be inducted in the Hall of Fame now itself). That is how they have always played and always will play. Los Galacticos, Los Blancos, Los Merengues, Real, Madrid are all names they are known by. But their fans are only called Madridistas. I am one, and will be for a very long time. Hala Madrid! Tagged Italy 10 things... ads Advertising blogging Blog With Me Book Review Books Cars Cricket Economics Football Formula 1 Gadgets Geek Humour Illustrate India Kindle Marathon Marketing Gyan Me Mumbai Music musings Random Rantings Real Madrid Rhymes Sports Uncategorized BMS Brands Career China Cloud Computing Coldplay Comics cracked Directi Draw Driving Facts festival Finance Friends future Global Warming HCL Hong Kong humour Infographics introspection Italy Jai Hind Life Logicboxes LOTR Manmohan Singh Marriage MBA Migraine Open Letter Painting Patni Pictures planet crisis Politics Sales School Shipping Kindle to India Sikkim SIMSR Slideshare Social Media Sports Top Gear Travel US bashing videos World view	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0043.json.gz/line856

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