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Horses / Leagues / ISH Stud Book Series
ISH Stud Book Classes
Irish Sport Horse Studbook Show Jumping Series 2020
Venues/Dates:
Galway Equestrian Centre - 5th July
Barnadown - 18th & 19th July
Mullingar - 1st & 2nd August
The Meadows - 22nd & 23rd August
Coilog Equestrian - 19th & 20th September
Wexford Equestrian - 4th October
Cavan Equestrian - 17th & 18th October
Notes on 2020 Series:
Classes for 5year olds, 6year olds and 7year olds will be held at selected venues throughout Ireland.
Entries for all ISH SJ classes are on a PRE-ENTRY basis and, for 2020, must be made through the SHOWJUMPING IRELAND SJI LIVE SYSTEM, available to download now from www.sjilive.ie. No other form of entry will be accepted. Please ensure your entries are made before close of entries as outlined in the show schedules and the SJI bulletin. Entries will open at 10am on the preceding Monday and close at 4pm on Thursday. All entries must be pre paid and can ONLY be accepted online. Declarations for the finals at each leg must be made within one hour of the conclusion of the qualifier class.
Important note on horse and rider combinations – horses must be jumped by the same rider in both the qualifiers and the finals at each show.
Riders must go in ‘order of go’ as dictated by the start list.
A reserve system will not operate for these classes.
Failure to comply with Showjumping Ireland rules, the ground jury, starter or stipendiary steward may result in disqualification.
To improve administration of prize money, for 2020 owners and/or riders are asked to submit bank details to Nadia Rea by email nrea@horsesportireland.ie or by post to the HSI offices, in order to facilitate online payment. Forms will be available at each leg to complete for payment.
It is the responsibility of riders and owners to familiarise themselves with ALL criteria detailed in this document.
All horses registered in the Irish Horse Register with the breed code ISH and sire and dam documented on their passport, are eligible to compete. Any stallion registered in a WBFSH studbook and which has commenced the HSI Stallion Inspection procedure and has been awarded ‘Preliminary Approved’ classification in the ISH studbook is also eligible to compete.
To check if your horse is eligible to compete please contact Nadia Rea in Horse Sport Ireland
(Tel: 045 854543, Email: nrea@horsesportireland.ie)
5 Year Olds:
At each of the selected legs of the Series, there will be a qualifier class leading to a final (to be held on the second day of the show).
At all legs of the series except Cavan, the qualifier class will run as a two-phase class with the second round against the clock (Article 274/.8). The top 25 OR all double clears will qualify for the final. However, time will only be used to decide the combinations that have qualified for the finals, where there are less than 25 double clears. The win and associated prize money in the qualifier classes will be divided between the double clears and/or horses on equal faults.
At all legs of the series except Cavan, the final class will be run as a jump-off class not against the clock (Article 238/1.1). The second round will be run as a jump-off not against the clock. Horses must go clear in the first round to jump in the second round. The winner will be determined by faults. Where there are horses on equal faults, the win will be divided.
At the final leg (Cavan), the qualifier class will be run as a two-phase class with the second round against the clock (Article 274/.8). The top 25 horses will qualify for the final.
At the final leg (Cavan), the final class will be run as a jump-off class (Article 238/2.2, Table A with one jump-off).
Course builders will be asked to set the courses at 350m/min.
Up to and including the first two legs, the suggested heights will be 1m10 for the qualifier classes and 1m15 for the final classes. For the next two legs, the suggested heights will be 1m15 for the qualifier classes and 1m20 for the final classes and for the final four legs the heights will be 1m20 for the qualifier and 1m25 for the final.
Only non-performance enhancing hind boots may be worn in these classes. If riders do not wish to use the boots as specified in the SJI Boot Rule see picture attached, then no hind boots or bandages of any kind will be permitted, failure to comply with this rule will lead to elimination of horse and rider combination.
SJI boot stewards will be in attendance at each leg of the Series to check and swab test boots.
Martingales are allowed but must be correctly fitted.
At each leg of the Series, there will be a qualifier class leading to a final (to be held on the second day of the show).
At the first four legs of the series, the qualifier class will run as a two-phase class with the second round against the clock (Article 274/.8). The top 25 OR all double clears will qualify for the final. However, time will only be used to decide the combinations that have qualified for the finals, where there are less than 25 double clears. The win and associated prize money in the qualifier classes will be divided between the double clears and/or horses on equal faults.
At the last four legs the qualifier classes will be run as a two-phase class with the second phase against the clock (Article 274/.8). The top 25 horses will qualify for the final.
At the first four legs the final classes will be run as a jump-off class not against the clock (Article 238/1.1). The second round will be run as a jump-off not against the clock. Horses must be clear in the first round to jump in the second round. The winner will be determined by faults. Where there are horses on equal faults, the win will be divided.
At the remaining legs the final classes will be run as a jump-off class (Article 238/2.2, Table A with one jump-off).
Course builders will be asked to set courses at 350 m/min.
The height bands of 1m25 will apply to the qualifier classes and 1m30 to the final classes up to and including the first four legs of the series.
The height bands of 1m30 will apply to the qualifier classes and 1m35 to the final classes for the remaining legs of the series.
An open water jump with poles over it (not a Liverpool) may be an obstacle in the six-year-old competition, there will be an alternative obstacle beside it. Please familiarise your horse to jump such an obstacle.
The qualifier class will be run as a two-phase class with the second round against the clock (Article 274/5.3). The top 25 horses will qualifier for the final.
The final class will be run as a jump-off class (Article 238/2.2, Table A with one jump-off).
Course builders will be asked to set the courses at 350 m/min.
The height bands of 1m35 will apply to the qualifier classes and 1m40 to the final classes for the last remaining legs of the series.
An open water jump with poles over it, (not a Liverpool) may be an obstacle in the Irish Sport Horse Show jumping series, please familiarise your horse to jump such an obstacle.
Ground Conditions:
Where adverse weather conditions occur in the week leading up to any of the legs of the Series, an SJI regional representative will be asked to make a final decision on the ground conditions by 12 noon the day before the first qualifier is due to commence.
Should the ground conditions be deemed to be unsuitable for jumping, the classes shall be moved to an all-weather surface or cancelled. Notification will be provided by SJI to the riders by 2pm on the day prior to the qualifier.
In the case where the National Grand Prix or Premier Series is called off due to weather conditions, all Irish Sport Horse Studbook Showjumping classes must be called off also.
At each leg except Cavan there will be €10,580 in prize money on offer. There will be €3,860 on offer for the 5-year olds (€710 for the qualifiers and €3,150 for the finals), €3,360 on offer for the 6-year olds (€660 for the qualifiers and €2,700 for the finals) and €3,360 on offer for the 7-year olds (€660 for the qualifiers and €2,700 for the finals).
Prize money in all classes will be awarded down to sixth place. In the case of equal placings, prize money will be divided.
At the final leg of the Series, there will be a total of €15,450 on offer. As at the other legs, there will be €3,860 on offer for the 5YO classes, €3,360 on offer for the 6YO classes and €3,360 on offer for the 7YO classes. In addition, there will be €1,500 on offer in League prizes (€500 to the winners of each of the three Leagues) and €4,500 on offer in Breeder prizes (€1000 to the breeders of the winners of each of the three Leagues, €500 to the breeders of the winners of each of the three finals).
Prize winners must take part in the prize giving ceremony (Article 248/5).
League final prize money breakdown:
5YO qualifier prize money: 1st €250, 2nd €150, 3rd €100, 4th €80, 5th €70, 6th €60
5YO final prize money: 1st €1,040, 2nd €690, 3rd €470, 4th €380, 5th €315, 6th €255
6YO qualifier prize money: 1st €250, 2nd €150, 3rd €80, 4th €70, 5th €60, 6th €50
6YO final prize money: 1st €890, 2nd €595, 3rd €405, 4th €325, 5th €270, 6th €215
League prizes: Winner €500 per League
Breeder League prizes: Winner €1000 per League
Breeder Final Leg prizes: Winner €500 per final at last leg
In the case where one leg of the series is cancelled the prize money for that leg will be redistributed in proportion over the remaining legs of the series.
In the case where the last leg of the series is cancelled the prize money will be redistributed to the league winners.
Points/League System:
The Series will be run as a League with points being awarded at each leg of the series on both the qualifying day and the final day for 2020, the final leg of the Series (Tattersalls) will NOT be restricted to combinations who have gained points throughout the Series but will be open to all eligible horses.
League points for 5year olds: Qualifying Day: 2 points for first clear round and 1 point for second clear round. Final Day: 3 points for the first clear round and 2 points for the second clear round.
League points for 6 year olds: Qualifying Day: 2 points for first clear round and 1 point for second clear round. Final Day: 3 points for the first clear round and 2 points for the second clear round.
League points for 7 year olds: 1st 10, 2nd 8, 3rd 6, 4th 4, 5th 3, 6th 2, 7th 1, 8th 1, 9th 1, 10th 1
League points will strictly apply to horse/rider combinations. No transfer of points will be allowed.
In the event of equality of points in the Leagues, the final placings will be determined by places achieved at the final leg (Tattersalls).
FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses, Lanaken 2020:
The FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Jumping Championship selection criteria will be published separately, on the Horse Sport Ireland website.
Horse/rider combinations entered to compete in these classes are strictly limited to warming up in the designated practice arenas. Any rider found in breach of this rule by the SJI steward will be eliminated from the class.
NO Temporary Tickets are allowed in these classes.
Supplementary Tickets are allowed in these classes (at the cost of €40 on top of the entry fee).
In the case of ineligibility in terms of age and breeding, ‘Hors Concours’ entries will NOT be allowed.
A Senior National Judge and National Judge must form part of the Ground Jury for all classes held as part of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook Showjumping Series.
A Senior National Course Builder (or above) must be in place for all classes held as part of the Irish Sport Horse Studbook Showjumping Series.
An SJI steward should be present in the practice arena for the duration of the Studbook classes;
All rounds of all classes in the Series must be timed.
For further information, please contact Nadia Rea in Horse Sport Ireland (Tel: 045 854543, Email: nrea@horsesportireland.ie).
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Caroline Bienstock
Caroline Bienstock is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Carlin America, Inc., the company her late father, music publishing titan Freddy Bienstock, named for her. She is currently celebrating her 28th year with the family business.
A New York City native, Caroline was reared in the music business by Freddy and her mother, Miriam, one of the original founders of Atlantic Records. She graduated cum laude from Yale College before earning her JD at Boston University School of Law. Caroline then worked as an associate at the New York office of the Chicago law firm Seyfarth Shaw Fairweather & Geraldson. Subsequently, she earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and then worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. before beginning her tenure at Carlin America.
In her capacity as Carlin America’s CEO, Caroline oversees and is responsible for all aspects of the family’s music publishing business, including catalog growth, licensing, administration and writer development, the organization-wide expansion into film music acquisitions and the Carlin operation in Nashville.
Caroline is a member of the Board of Directors of both the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). She is a past Executive Director of the New York Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP), having served on that Board for over fifteen years. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. She is also a Member of both the Copyright Society and the Entertainment and Sports Law section of the New York State Bar Association.
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Lisa Marshall - Stay Right Here (2013)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BG1QEX4/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00BG1QEX4&linkCode=as2&tag=soultracks-20
You see that Lisa Marshall operates out of Austin, and then you hear her muscular brand of soul and blues with a little country mixed in and Janis Joplin immediately comes to mind. Marshall does count Joplin as a musical influence along with soul music royalty such as Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Gladys Knight – singers she heard while listening to her parents’ vinyl. Marshall’s parents raised her in Virginia Beach. From there Marshall moved to Seattle before eventually settling in Austin. She likely heard plenty of country, soul, blues and rock along the way. Marshall incorporates all of those influences into the classic sound heard on Stay Right Here.
While Marshall ended up in Austin, the sounds of Detroit, Chicago and Memphis inform the album’s input. Memphis turns up on tracks such as “The Best Is Yet To Come.” The tune’s arrangement calls to mind the sound created by Isaac Hayes during his salad days at Stax when he was making songs that combined deep funk with orchestral violins and flutes. Marshall’s emotive vocals strike compliments the distorted guitar riffs, strings and funky bass line.
The upbeat “I Bet It’s The Same” has a message of social justice and equality that is a recurring theme of many of Marshall’s songs. She encourages listeners to use their time on earth to strive for understanding and tolerance. It’s a message that Marshall drives home, ending the song by taking the listener to a tent revival with a fast paced call-and-response ending.
Marshall commitment to human rights and encouraging the discouraged comes through on cuts such as “Don’t Give Up.” This mid-tempo funk number is Marshall’s recognition that change does not happen overnight. She knows that people might become frustrated with the one step forward/two steps back nature of change, and this track can be seen as a pep talk to those struggling for a host of causes – from climate change to equality issues.
Marshall has a point of view, but she combines her power packed vocals with lyrics that have a universal appeal. When she sings “Please don’t give your hope away/Cuz there’s strength in numbers/Woah yeah,” on “Don’t Give Up” she expresses a sentiment that can be embraced by people with any dog in any fight. That might not be Marshall’s intent. But, with Stay Right Here, Lisa Marshall has put together a combination of these insightful lyrics along with solid tunes and vocals that a lot of people will relate to as if this album was made just for them. Recommended.
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Why vaccine hesitancy is growing during a deadly pandemic
By Lisa M. Krieger The Mercury News
SAN JOSE, Calif. – We’re all desperate for a magic bullet that will restore our pre-COVID lives.
But even some of science’s most ardent fans say they’re reluctant to roll up their sleeves and participate in the pandemic’s first wave of inoculations, unnerved by reports of a rushed timetable, politicization and poor communication.
There isn’t a vaccine yet – and with initial supplies very limited, such apprehension may not pose an immediate problem, say experts. But persistent distrust could spell trouble for the nation’s ambitious Operation Warp Speed campaign to protect all Americans.
These aren’t your usual “anti-vaxxers,” the traditional tinfoil-hat conspiratorialists or fear-mongering celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Rather, they are “vaccine hesitants,” a broad and diverse spectrum of Californians whose real world experience of the pandemic so far – and lifelong interactions with government or healthcare systems – has sown distrust.
“It’s not anti-science that’s driving it. Instead, it’s questioning the integrity of the scientific research. It’s a socio-political issue – whether our current infrastructure is promoting the interests of the public, or the power interests, financial interests, corporate interests,” said Maya J. Goldenberg of Canada’s University of Guelph, author of the forthcoming book Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science.
Some so-called “hesitants” are liberals who are suspicious of President Donald Trump’s cheerleading; others are anti-government libertarians. If affluent, they’re happy to wait at home until there’s more research. If poor, they are frustrated that vaccine manufacturers seem to be wooing Wall Street investors, not hard-hit minority communities.
“I believe in vaccines. They’ve helped my family and reduced the mortality of poor people,” said Margaret Gordon, a great-grandmother and co-director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, a community-based organization that monitors air quality.
“But we need more evidence. We have no assurance they’ll work,” she said. “There hasn’t been any real public education.”
As deaths mount, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it will consider historic “emergency use authorization” of a vaccine that shows safety and efficacy. This means looking at interim results of trials that would ordinarily take years, so data will be preliminary and incomplete.
To be sure, many Americans say they would welcome anything that offers hope.
In the hard-hit Latinx community, “we have to do something. I think people will be ready. We have people dying from this,” said Ignacio De La Fuente, a business consultant and former Oakland city councilman.
“The reality is, where we are today and what we are experiencing, it will be necessary to get the vaccine,” agreed Oakland Councilman Noel Gallo, whose district includes the Fruitvale, with more infections than any neighborhood in Alameda County, the Bay Area’s hardest-hit county.
But surveys show overall diminishing support. Between May and September, the number of Americans who said they would “definitely or probably” get the vaccine fell from 72% to 51%, according to a Pew poll. In California, two-thirds of those polled said they were concerned about vaccine approval moving too fast.
Predictably, the “anti-vaxxers” have seized the moment, alleging that the Moderna vaccine contains a dangerous chemical, the Astra Zeneca vaccine transmits virus and the government is using a secret defense contractor to deploy vaccines and create a surveillance state.
But distrust has broadened to include many others.
Those suspicious of Big Pharma saw early news conferences with industry CEOs as proof that “the bottom line is about shareholders,” said the University of California, Riverside professor of public policy Richard Carpiano. “There was not really much science… It was industry types, using ‘corporate talk’ about earnings reports.”
The live-free-or-die Libertarian crowd, already angered by mask mandates and business closures, sees vaccines as another government overreach, he said, with the military-sounding Operation Warp Speed campaign “feeding into a nightmare scenario of forced vaccinations.”
Then there are those on the opposite end of the spectrum: Liberals who believe so firmly in public health that they want to see data – lots of data. And no political drama.
“The concern is that the vaccine studies are too small,” said Berkeley-based health activist Karuna Jaggar. Because rare side effects may not show up in small or short trials, “we want to make sure that there are enough people, and that those people are diverse enough.”
The power struggles between the administration and regulators worsens anxieties, said Jaggar. “We deserve an FDA that puts public health before politics.”
Meanwhile, the Black community feels ignored, said Dr. Owen Garrick of Oakland’s Bridge Clinical Research, which works to engage minorities in medical research. To counter distrust built from decades of discriminatory health care, he suggested better communication from manufacturers.
“I would have expected something that said: ‘Here’s our strategy – help us think through the best ways to engage.’ But there’s been very little of that,” he said. “So people think either you made a conscious decision not to include them, or you didn’t think enough of them to bother.”
In Portola Valley, Kathleen Bennett is a fierce believer in vaccines, but has decided to wait it out, safe in her comfortable home, until more safety data accumulates.
“I am quite ‘sheltered in place,’” said Bennett, founder of The Girls’ Middle School. “I don’t feel I have to rush to get the very first COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t want to be among the first guinea pigs.”
But with a two-week family vacation to Hawaii planned for next winter, she’ll reconsider her decision next autumn, when there is more and better data.
“My hope is by next September, the first or second vaccines will have rolled out, and they have begun to see if they are safe and efficacious,” said Bennett.
That wait-and-see approach, combined with better outreach, could slowly build trust across the nation, said Goldenberg.
”Hopefully, we will see that we have an excellent product,” she said. “The more data we accumulate, and the more we share those findings with the public, the more willing people will be to get the vaccine for themselves and for their family.
”Over time,” she said, “that will bring more people in.”
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Sporting KC and J. Rieger & Co. kick off a spirited partnership
December 17, 20199:00AM CST
Kansas City distillery J. Rieger & Co. and the MLS soccer stars at Sporting Kansas City are joining forces to celebrate their “love of the city.” As of December 2019, the two hometown favorites have an exciting new partnership in play encompassing specialty bottlings, cocktails and events at the J. Rieger & Co. distillery, Children’s Mercy Park and other local venues. Scheduled to debut with the 2020 Sporting season, Rieger’s products will be served at Children’s Mercy Park during matches and at private events in the suite levels, Shield Club and additional concession locations at the stadium.
To show their spirit, J. Rieger & Co. is throwing their full support behind Sporting, now known as the “Official Sports Team of J. Rieger & Co.” In return, Sporting has named them “the Preferred Distillery of Sporting Kansas City.”
“We’re so proud to support Sporting and their amazing fan base,” says Andy Rieger, President & Co-Founder of J. Rieger & Co. “This is a true partnership that goes beyond traditional sports marketing, and is all about responding to the energy and excitement our Kansas City fans have come to expect from J. Rieger & Co. and Sporting.”
“Sporting is thrilled to partner with great local businesses that showcase everything we love about Kansas City,” says Jake Reid, President and CEO of Sporting KC. “The team at J. Rieger & Co. is taking our spirits program to a whole new level with creative cocktail and drink experiences that we look forward to showcasing throughout Children’s Mercy Park.”
Observant fans of J. Rieger & Co. and Sporting Kansas City were recently treated to a special appearance by team captain Matt Besler in an ode to the traditional “yule log.” The video showcases Besler by the fireplace at The Hey! Hey! Club at the Rieger distillery. Click here to view.
Season Ticket Members of Sporting Kansas City are invited to a season kick off event at the distillery on February 19. Additional details will be announced at a later date.
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Clearance rates falling in major city
by Nick Bendel 25 August 2015 1 minute read
New data from the weekend confirms the cooling of one capital city's auction market, with another continuing to grow to new heights.
by Nick Bendel
Sydney has now posted its fifth consecutive clearance rate below 80 per cent after an earlier run of 12 straight weekends above that mark.
The city had a clearance rate of 76.4 per cent last weekend, compared to 79 per cent on the same weekend the year before, according to APM PriceFinder.
Sales jumped 35 per cent to 447, with the median price for house sales up 14.3 per cent to $1.3 million and the median price for unit sales up 21.4 per cent to $823,000.
Melbourne’s clearance rate reached 76 per cent, compared to 70.2 per cent the year before.
Sales climbed 20.8 per cent to 512, with the median house price rising 13.5 per cent to $892,000 and the median unit price rising 13.3 per cent to $550,000.
Brisbane posted a clearance rate of 43.5 per cent, with the 27 sales achieving a median price of $716,000, while Adelaide posted a clearance rate of 71.4 per cent, with the 20 sales achieving a median price of $560,000.
Across Australia, the clearance rate increased from 71.4 per cent last year to 74.6 per cent.
Sales grew 24.2 per cent to 1,031, with house prices up 14.9 per cent to $981,000 and unit prices up 9.2 per cent to $685,000.
Barry Plant Real Estate Glen Waverley enjoyed the weekend’s best result, selling a three-bedroom Glen Waverley house for $6 million.
Sydney’s best result was achieved by Richardson & Wrench Willoughby, which sold a block of four units in Willoughby for $4.60 million.
In Brisbane, LJ Hooker Cleveland sold a four-bedroom Raby Bay house for $1.88 million.
The Agency Property Group secured Adelaide’s highest auction price, with a four-bedroom Henley Beach South house that sold for $910,000.
Lending crackdown fails to curb growth
Foreign investment laws overhauled
Drug den disaster a lesson to landlords
Re-establishing yourself after change
Shake-up for Victorian real estate
Natural disaster warning
Last Updated: 22 December 2017 Published: 25 August 2015
Mortgage rates likely to rise again
Cash rate to remain steady
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Loan Report: Reid knocks out Bees
An update on our twelve players currently on loan…
Striker Alex Reid headlines the Loan Report this week after his winning penalty knocked Barnet out of the FA Trophy, securing AFC Fylde’s place in the semi-finals.
The on-loan forward came on for the Coasters on the half-hour mark and after 120 minutes of football, neither team could break the deadlock.
After Barnet missed two of their first three penalties in the shoot-out, Alex Reid stepped up to calmly send AFC Fylde into the next round.
🤙🏾
A post shared by Reid (@alexreidxo) on Feb 24, 2019 at 3:40am PST
Ben Kennedy returned to the Newport squad after missing out on their win away at Notts County in midweek, but after coming on with half-an-hour to go, he could not help the Exiles from going down 2-0 away at MK Dons.
Back in the National League, James Ferry was introduced to Halifax Town’s game at home to Havant & Waterlooville with 20 minutes to go, as the sides shared the points in a goalless draw.
In the Southern League Premier Central, Joe White continued his hot-streak with two more goals in a 3-1 home win versus Lowestoft Town, assisting the other. In the same league, Harry Draper played 90 minutes in Hitchin Town’s 2-0 victory over Stratford Town.
After signing for Wingate & Finchley Town on Friday, Donovan Makoma played 90 minutes in their 2-1 defeat at home to Worthing in the Isthmian Premier.
At the same level of the pyramid but in the Premier South, the Kings Langley duo of Andronicos Georgiou and Dylan Switters both played in their comfortable 3-0 win over Beaconsfield Town.
With 15 minutes to go in the game, Switters' relentless running finally paid dividends, after pressing the opposition defender into losing the ball at the last line of defence, before calmly taking the ball around the goalkeeper to slot home. This comes just days after the midfielder was sent off for a second yellow card in their midweek fixture, and will therefore miss Kings Langley's next game at home to Merthyr Town.
Both Marcus Gouldbourne and Paul Field played 90 minutes for their Southern League Division One Central sides. Gouldbourne was once again Dunstable Town’s livewire in attack, but his efforts would come in vein as his side fell 5-0 away at Thame United.
Field, on the other hand, was part of the Aylesbury side that overcame a 2-1 first leg deficit, with a 2-0 win at home to Leighton Town in the semi-finals of the Bucks Charity Cup.
Finally, without a game at the weekend, both Theo Sackey-Mensah and Drilon Krasniqi played for Great Yarmouth Town on Wednesday night, in a 2-2 draw at Walsham le Willows.
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HILO - Pick-3 Hi-Lo System
I'd like to share with you one of the most incredible Lottery encounters I've ever had. Earlier this year, I was contacted by a gentleman from New Jersey who claimed to have "The Greatest Lottery System Of All Time." While I have heard this many times before, I always try to take the time to review the hundreds (if not thousands) of systems that other players ask me to evaluate.
From the very beginning, my interaction with this gentleman, who I will refer to as "Jersey Joe" in order to protect his identity, was far from ordinary. I repeatedly asked him to send me a copy of the system, but Joe insisted that we would have to meet in person. He kept telling me that it would be more than worth my while to get together and that this was the only way that he was willing to reveal the Greatest Lottery System Of All Time to me.
While visiting a friend during a recent trip to New York, I agreed to meet the mystery man with the Greatest Lottery System Of All Time! The meeting was set for 6 PM at, of all places, a rest area on the Palisades Parkway just across the river from New York City. Initially I was somewhat concerned that I was being set up for a robbery or an abduction, or even worse, an assassination, but when a late model flagship Mercedes Benz pulled into the far corner of the parking area, my concerns subsided. The door opened and a very well dressed man with receding silver hair stepped out and introduced himself. In his hand was an envelope, and as he passed it to me he touched my shoulder and said, "here are tonight's winning numbers for five different State's Lottery games". He then said that he would meet me at the same place at 7 o'clock the next morning to reveal the system to me. I explained that I was on my way back to New Hampshire and I would not be able to meet him the next morning, to which he smiled and said, "I'm sure you'll be here!" With that he walked back to his car and drove off.
I opened the envelope to find a single hand-written piece of paper listing five State's with between 10 and 15 Pick-3 numbers written under each State. The State's listed were New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Florida, and the numbers on the list were different for each State. Although I was intrigued by my encounter with Jersey Joe, I did in fact have business in New Hampshire the next day and decided to drive home. I was disappointed that Joe did not bring the system with him and I felt that maybe this meeting had been a complete waste of time. Half way back to New Hampshire that night, curiosity got the best of me, and I pulled out my smart phone to check the Evening Pick-3 number for New Jersey. I compared the winning number drawn against Joe's picks for New Jersey on the list. As they say, close but no cigar! Although he only missed the winner by one digit, it appeared that the Greatest Lottery System Of All Time did not measure up that night.
By the time I got to Massachusetts, I stopped for fuel and a snack and decided to give Joe's numbers another chance. I looked up that nights winning number for New York, and sure enough, the winning number was on the list. I then looked up the Evening number drawn for Pennsylvania, and once again, it was on the list. "Okay," I thought to myself, "Joe got lucky." Next I checked that evenings Illinois number, and lo and behold, there it was, right on top of the list of Joe's Illinois numbers. With three hits in four State's on the same night, I was truly impressed, so I looked up the result of the Florida Evening game. Once again, there was the winning number, in black and white, right on the list! I felt like a little kid who had just witnessed an amazing magic trick, and I found myself smiling from ear to ear.
The odds of picking between 10 and 15 numbers for five different State's and hitting the winner in four of those States on the same night are truly astronomical. I sat there for a few minutes to let what I had just seen sink in. I checked the numbers one more time and then started up my car and headed back to New Jersey. I had a very important 7 AM meeting with Joe that I was not about to miss!
The next morning Joe pulled up right on time carrying two cups of coffee and got into my car. I congratulated him on his amazing picks to which he responded, "Winning is pretty easy when you have The Greatest Lottery System Of All Time." He then explained to me that his father had been a nationally renowned mathematician who apparently had a penchant for the Lottery, although no one in his family knew about it. Joe recalled how back in the fifties and sixties his father would regularly come home with a paper bag full of cash. Joe later learned that his father had developed a system to beat the Numbers game, the street version of the Pick-3 game that is now offered by the State Lotteries. Back then the game was run by very shady characters from the Mob, and the winners were paid in cash, usually stuffed into a brown paper bag.
When Joe was 30 years old, his fathers health began to fail, and late one night he called Joe into the kitchen to tell him all about the secret Lottery side of his life. He passed his son a stack of hand written papers and set out to explain the system to him. While Joe had been a fairly good student, he was not the mathematician that his father was, and it took him a while to understand the formulations scribbled across several dog-eared pages. His father went on to explain that for many years, he had derived a large part of his income from using this system to beat the Numbers game. Most importantly, he told Joe that if he wanted to use the system, he should be sure to give 10% of the money he won to charity, just like his father had always done.
It wasn't until a year or so after his fathers death when Joe recalled that evenings discussion and decided to give the system a try. At first he was frustrated with the amount of time it took to do all of the workouts and apply the formulas long hand, but since the system actually worked, he stayed with it. After a while, using the system to win became second nature, and Joe found himself driving across the State line into New York and then Connecticut and later Pennsylvania to play and win the Pick-3 games in those States as well. His father had given him the ultimate gift; a gift that truly keeps giving!
Joe explained to me that although he had a good job, it never really provided the kind of lifestyle that he had imagined for himself. Using his fathers system to play the Pick-3 game changed all that, and as he put it, "my job allowed me to provide for myself and my family, but it was my fathers system that made me a very rich man, and allowed me to donate 10% to so many wonderful charities along the way for the last 40 years."
Following in his fathers footsteps, Joe decided to keep his Lottery winning hobby a secret from his friends and family. He would regularly buy his tickets on the way to work or on the way home from work, and he would cash in his winning tickets in surrounding towns, stashing the cash in a brown paper bag under his front seat! For the next forty years, Joe paid for everything he wanted in cash, and never told anyone, not even his family, about his secret source of income.
Joe then handed me a photocopy of his fathers hand written system and told me that it was time to make it available to the rest of the world. The only thing he asked in return is that anyone who uses the system agrees to always donate 10% of their winnings to a worthwhile charity of their choice.
When I got back to my office later that day I spread the papers out in front of me and studied them very carefully. The method immediately made sense to me, however, I could see that doing all of the workouts and formulations long hand would indeed be a very tedious process. Still, I wanted to see just how well the system worked and whether or not I could duplicate Joe's amazing results from the previous night.
Over the next few weeks I began to workout the numbers for dozens of different State's Pick-3 games, applying the system to both the Midday and Evening drawings. From the very first day that I used the Greatest Lottery System Of All Time, I was astounded by how accurate it was at picking the winning numbers. I started to play the system in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts games, and it kept winning like crazy. I was cashing in so many tickets, that within just a few days, I ended up with a formidable bulge of cash in my pocket. Driving home one day the bulge became so uncomfortable that I pulled it out of my pocket and put it in the glove box. I made a mental note that day to keep a brown paper bag in my car from now on!
The only problem with The Greatest Lottery System Of All Time was the time it took to do each days workout. I spent the next week automating this process and turned the system into a simple "fill in the blanks" process. I could now easily fill the number drawn yesterday into the blanks and get new numbers to play in just a few minutes. Using my fill-in-the-blanks method immediately turned The Greatest Lottery System Of All Time into one of the Easiest-To-Use Lottery systems of all time!
So how does this amazing system come up with so many winning numbers? The trick that makes it work is actually so simple that I can't believe I did not come up with it myself. By separating the Pick-3 game into the five lowest digits (0-1-2-3-4) and the five highest digits (5-6-7-8-9), this system is capable of producing a winning number 72% of the time. What that means in plain English is that on average you can actually win your game 7 out of every 10 times you play. The downside is that for 3 of every 10 times you play, the system will not give you the correct winning number. Did I say downside? Actually, any system that is capable of giving you the winning number 7 out of every 10 times you play does not have any downside at all!!!
So the question that everyone wants to know the answer to is whether or not this actually is the Greatest Lottery System Of All Time. I hate to admit it, especially since I did not create it, but it just might be exactly that. I have named it the Pick-3 HI-LO System, and I can tell you without any reservations that I have never before seen a system that consistently gives you so many winning numbers. I have turned it into a simple fill-in-the-blanks method that gives you ready-to-play numbers for any State's Midday or Evening Pick-3 game. In my professional opinion, the HI-LO system is an essential tool that no serious Pick-3 player should ever be without. I use it every day, and I can tell you that I have been filling plenty of my own brown paper bags with cash!
This system has allowed both Joe and his father to become rich men, and they showed their thanks by giving 10% of their winnings to charity. It was Jersey Joe's wish that this system finally be made available to players everywhere, so we've priced it at just $95.00. I urge you to order your copy today, but if you want to use the HI-LO system, you must agree to always donate 10% of your winnings to your favorite charity. I will personally be donating 10% of the profits from the sale of this System to St. Jude's Children's Hospital!
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SVSU chooses next class for leadership development program
A Saginaw Valley State University selection committee chose 10 students to participate in the 18th class of the highly competitive Roberts Fellowship Program.
The year-long leadership development initiative empowers students to grow through both academic course work and extracurricular activities designed to enhance their potential as future political, economic and civic leaders. The program culminates in a trip to Asia to provide the Fellows with an international perspective on leadership.
This year's class was selected in part for demonstrating academic excellence and leadership potential.
The students selected as Roberts Fellows for the 2016-17 academic year include:
• Nikolas Berkobien, a psychology major from Saginaw
• Reanna Cantrall, a biology major from Frankenmuth
• Brandon Errer, a political science major from Saginaw
• Kevin Finley, an accounting major from Flint
• Stephen Holihan, a biology major from Saginaw
• Imran Khan, a computer science major from the Asian nation of Bangladesh
• Sandra Lamarche, an international business major from Frankenmuth
• Christina Micale, a psychology major from Macomb
• Samuel Oswald, a psychology major from Midland
• Natalie Schneider, a business management major from Saginaw
To qualify, students must have completed between 48 and 100 credit hours with a minimum grade point average of 3.40 and pass a rigorous selection process. Students are chosen based upon their academic accomplishment, a record of university and community service, and other evidence of leadership potential.
Students selected to be Roberts Fellows will be required to complete a 3-credit "Leadership Seminar" in the fall and winter semesters, within one or more academic departments. During the year, the Fellows will also meet for informal seminars and discussions with various political, business and civic leaders from throughout the Great Lakes Bay region. Andrew Swihart, professor of psychology, and Brian Thomas, associate professor of sociology, serve as the group's faculty advisers.
Established in 1999, the program is named in honor of Donna Roberts of Midland, who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to SVSU through her personal generosity and prior service on the Board of Control and the Board of Fellows. A respected attorney, business leader and philanthropist, Roberts retired from The Dow Chemical Company, where she was Secretary and Assistant General Counsel. She is an honorary director of the SVSU Foundation Board.
SVSU Cardinal Formula Racing hopes for better final day during 2016 international contest
The faculty adviser for the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinal Formula Racing team says hard work, dedication and teamwork could propel this group to a strong finish at the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Collegiate Design Series later this week at Michigan International Speedway.
Then again, one bad break could undo all of that.
“This is a sophisticated race team, and we are prepared and we are ready,” said Brooks Byam, SVSU professor of mechanical engineering and the team’s adviser since 1998. “Sometimes, though, it can come down to racing luck.”
Byam and last year’s team learned that the hard way when a 10-cent oil line broke during the final day of the annual competition. The team still finished in 26th place out of 110 institutions – the highest of any exclusively undergraduate team – but likely would have finished in the top 10 if not for the malfunction, he said.
“We were so unbelievably close, it was heartbreaking,” Byam said.
This year’s team hopes to combine last year’s performance with better luck when the annual competition kicks off again at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan May 11-14.
Recognized by his peers, Byam received the Society of Automotive Engineers Carroll Smith Mentor's Cup in 2013, an award given to one faculty member annually who advises college formula racing programs.
Teams from higher education institutions across the globe attend the series, which features multiple competition categories such as endurance, acceleration, autocross, cost, presentation, and skid pad. The scores from each category determine an overall tally.
The defending overall champion was Austria-based Graz University of Technology, whose students for the last six years have stayed in SVSU housing facilities in the days leading up to the competition.
The hospitality allows Byam and his students a sneak peak at the competition.
“I have a hard time sometimes believing that students built these,” Byam said. “These look like professionally-built cars. The competition is unbelievably stiff.”
Despite last year’s setback, SVSU recorded the highest overall finish among institutions without a graduate program in engineering, thanks to top 15 showings in categories such as acceleration, autocross, cost, presentation, and skid pad. The oil line break happened during the endurance competition.
The 26th-place overall finish was the fifth-best all-time showing for SVSU’s team. Four times Cardinal Formula Racing hast placed in the top 20 overall: sixth place in 2002, eighth in 2005, 14th in 2008 and 18th in 2010.
Outstanding SVSU Criminal Justice Alum Sworn in as Saginaw Police Officer Tonight
Monday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
Saginaw City Hall
Included in the four new officers who will be sworn in to the Saginaw Police Department Monday, May 9 is Terrance Moore, who graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2015. He was named SVSU’s Outstanding Criminal Justice graduate last year, and remains enrolled at SVSU pursuing a master’s degree in administrative science.
Terrance recently graduated from the police academy and will take part in a swearing in ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at Saginaw City Hall.
For more about Terrance, visit http://www.svsu.edu/newsroom/news/2015/april/terrancemoore/
Taylor Fisher: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Emmett
High school: Yale
Future: law school
Taylor Fisher has built quite an email signature during her time as an SVSU student.
Honors student. Roberts Fellowship Program member. Former SVSU moot court director. Former parliamentarian for Student Association, SVSU’s student body government. Former SVSU Law Club vice president. Former co-editor of the campus political science journal, The Sovereign.
In May, the political science major’s determination will allow her to add “SVSU graduate” to that lineup of titles listed in her email signature. She expects to include “law school student” shortly thereafter.
“Starting last year, I was comparing my email signature to the email signatures of students I looked up to when I was a freshman,” said Fisher, of Emmett, a rural community with one stop sign in southeast Michigan.
“I remember thinking, ‘I want to have a lot of accomplishments listed in my signature, like they do.’ I think I got to where I want to be.”
By most measures of success — email signatures included — Fisher is a distinguished student compared to many four-year graduates. Yet she belongs in a different category. After all, her academic persistence led to her securing those accomplishments in three years.
After mixing 18-credit hour semesters with spring and summer semester classes, Fisher one year ago realized she was on pace to graduate in May 2016. Advisers cautioned her against taking that road, instead recommending she enroll in a light load of courses while studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).
“But I was thinking, ‘I want to do this in three years,’” she said. “I wanted to see if I could do it.”
And she did — all while passing the LSAT in October 2015. As a result, she will be less than a month into her 21st year when she is honored during SVSU’s commencement ceremonies in May. Shortly after that, she plans to pick which law school to attend this fall.
Fisher credits faculty, staff and students for helping her meet her goals so efficiently.
“I had a lot of people who took the time to sit down with me, work out a timeline and help me finish in three years,” she said. “And it wasn’t just people helping me figure out my schedule.”
For instance, former SVSU President Eric Gilbertson was among the mentors who helped Fisher along the way. Gilbertson, a former Constitutional attorney who now serves as SVSU’s executive in residence, was among Fisher’s advisors for the university moot court team that competes nationally in simulated courtroom cases scored by a panel of judges.
“I don’t know another school where a president or former president will sit down with you, critique your courtroom argument and offer you life advice at the same time,” Fisher said. “Those are the kinds of opportunities you have at SVSU.”
Of those SVSU opportunities, moot court was among Fisher’s favorites. She served as the group’s student director in 2015-16, when the American Collegiate Moot Court Association ranked the program No. 17 in the U.S. In January, her team competed in the association’s national tournament at California State University-Long Beach.
“Moot court was such a bonding experience with the other students,” she said. “And it really helped me learn how to better my legal writing, get up in front of a whole courtroom of people, be aware of time and not fall on my feet. I think I will have learned the most at SVSU from being on moot court.”
She was inspired enough by the program that it became the basis for the thesis she wrote as part of her involvement with SVSU’s Honors Program. Her paper, “Benefits of undergraduate involvement in moot court programs,” explores how SVSU’s moot court program — formed relatively recently, in 2010 — has catapulted a number of alumni into successful positions at respected law schools.
Fisher said she hopes the paper finds life after her graduation.
“I’d like to see it get across the country and maybe lead to other schools creating their own moot court programs,” she said.
Speaking of life after graduation: Fisher won’t quite be finished at SVSU when the commencement ceremony concludes. As one of 10 students selected for the university’s Roberts Fellowship Program, an initiative that develops leaders, she will travel to Asia in May as part of the capstone experience.
“I’ve just done so many things since I’ve been here,” said Taylor, who, by the way, also is a third-generation owner of her family’s boarding kennel that trains Great Danes and Boxers for dog shows across the nation.
“A lot of it went by so fast. I blinked and it was done.”
Scott Stanford: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Novi
High school: Novi
Future: audit staff, Plante Moran accounting firm
On a warm October day in 2011 on Michigan Tech University’s football field, Scott Stanford experienced one of his first feelings of success at Saginaw Valley State University.
Stanford, a freshman kicker on the Cardinal football team that season, had already sent two field goal kicks sailing between the goal post uprights — including a 45-yard boot — by the time the GLIAC rivals began overtime play. The third kick, if Stanford could hit it, would win the game and lift the SVSU Cardinals above Michigan Tech in the GLIAC North standings.
“I had already hit a few field goals, so I was relaxed by that point,” Stanford remembers of the moment.
Yes, the story ends well for Stanford: He nailed the 23-yard attempt to win the game for SVSU, 44-41. Teammates and traveling fans cheered in celebration.
Stanford expects to hear another kind of cheering when the Novi native’s name is called during SVSU’s May 2016 commencement ceremonies. In many respects, Stanford has kept his winning streak alive since that October 2011 moment, with the latest victory arriving because of his successful completion of SVSU’s bachelor’s degree program in accounting.
“My experience at Saginaw Valley was really great,” he said. “I really enjoyed my time there. I was able to have the college experience I was looking for, and was prepared well for my career afterward.”
That “career” may begin at the Plante Moran accounting services office near his hometown of Novi. In the absence of one scenario that could change his plans (more on that later), Stanford expects to begin work as a full-time auditor in August 2016.
The job was offered to Stanford based on the accounting know-how he displayed during an internship in that same office for four months beginning in January 2016.
That internship opportunity happened when Stanford attended the SVSU Career Services-hosted Accounting and Finance Fair in September 2015, when employers such as Plante Moran visited the campus and met with its deep pool of prospective workers. After a follow-up interview, Stanford was offered an internship that involved participating in audits of companies from industries including construction, manufacturing and nonprofits.
The work was perfectly suited for Stanford’s interest and off-the-field abilities.
“I always liked numbers, so I’ve known for a while that I wanted to go into accounting,” he said. “With that subject, there’s just so much to learn. There are so many rules and regulations. I can go into work and know I’m going to learn something new every day.”
Learning was a priority for Stanford during his undergraduate studies. His focus on the classroom even shined through in his collegiate football life. One of his proudest accomplishments at SVSU came when he was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America Division II Football Team, which recognized 49 athletes nationally that excelled academically that year.
“I’ve always wanted to do well academically and athletically,” he said. “That award was an honor for me to receive.”
While Stanford is near advancing his SVSU studies into a career in accounting, he continues to work first toward advancing his SVSU athletic career into a career in the world’s top football league. In the next few months, Stanford hopes to secure a tryout session with an NFL team that could lead to a professional football contract for the 2016-17 season.
“Ideally, I’m looking at the NFL,” he said. “The difficulty is in getting a foot in the door. I’m trying to market my name as a kicker right now, and get someone interested in me.”
Stanford works out five days a week with the help of a personal trainer to stay in shape in the event his number is called. He likely will know if an NFL team is interested by the time his Plante Moran job is scheduled to start.
“I’ll play it by ear,” he said. “For me to comfortably extend my offer, it will have to be something that’s a promising opportunity.”
Stanford recognizes very few people play in the NFL, but is optimistic — if given the chance — he can keep his on-the-field winning streak alive before he turns his attention toward his off-the-field talents.
Marianna Cuevas: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Tecumseh
High School: Manchester
Future: Marianna is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Louisville.
Marianna Cuevas knows that leaving SVSU to take the next step toward fulfilling her professional ambitions will be bittersweet.
The social work major has a deep passion for SVSU and is sad to leave the university behind, but is excited to pursue her personal and professional goals.
Cuevas didn’t always know she wanted to be a social work major. SVSU’s competitive nursing program brought her to SVSU, and after changing her major five times, she eventually discovered her passion after joining the social work program.
After some trial and error, the Manchester native was elated when she learned that the social work profession aligned with her own goals and interests. Cuevas found a path that would allow her to make an impact in the areas of social justice, homelessness, poverty and mental health — the subjects she is most passionate about. Despite her initial indecision, Cuevas still managed to graduate within four years and plans to pursue a master’s in social work in the fall.
“My family always put a strong emphasis on human relationships,” she said. “I wanted a job that was fulfilling. I love connecting people to the things they need.”
Cuevas has worked as a research assistant at SVSU — studying library services and what it can do for homeless people — and as an assault advocate for the Saginaw Child and Family Services Center. When she finishes grad school, she would like to work in case management in either a homeless shelter or women’s shelter.
"I am struck by Marianna's high energy and commitment to every task she takes on,” said Mark Geisler, professor of social work at SVSU. “For the research project on homelessness with which she has assisted me, she has demonstrated not only academic proficiency and integrity, but also a compassion toward our subjects that embraces the social work values of dignity and worth of all. Her positive attitude and optimism towards her work are indeed infectious."
Inspired by her internship as an assault advocate at the Saginaw Child and Family Services Center, Cuevas started the Sexual Assault Prevention Team (SAPT) on campus in September 2014.
“I looked online and couldn’t find anything about sexual assault prevention at SVSU,” she said. “No one likes to talk about sexual assault because it’s not happy or fun, but it is important for students to be educated about the resources available to them.”
Cuevas is grateful for the unique experience of starting her own student organization and is proud of how SAPT has grown over the last two years. The timing was impeccable as it coincided with new federal laws requiring more sexual assault prevention measures. Faculty and staff at SVSU have also been very supportive of the organization and have aided in its success, she said.
In addition to her efforts in preventing sexual assault, Cuevas has taken part in several service trips across the globe. She was able to do this through a student organization that sends students to volunteer during winter and spring breaks. Cuevas was also fortunate enough to meet her fiancé, William Strasz, on one of her service trips. The two SVSU graduates plan to get married this fall.
“I am proud that I trusted my gut and came to SVSU,” she said. “My experiences here have made such a significant impact on my life. I love it here and I am going to miss it."
Emily Short: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Tawas City
High school: Tawas
Major: chemistry
Future: job searching
Emily Short demonstrates her passion for environmental preservation through her studies and her everyday life.
The chemistry major hopes to inspire others to become just as excited about science and environmental research as she is.
“I think science can be intimidating sometimes,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be an exclusive field. Anyone can get involved and learn how to protect the environment for future generations.”
Short was able to work with SVSU’s Saginaw Bay Environmental Science Institute, where she examined water samples from nearby rivers and lakes. She received hands-on experience collecting and testing water samples for contamination in a hydrolab. With SVSU’s new mobile lab, students were able to collect and test the samples immediately on site. Short was also able to engage the community, promoting environmental research to fellow undergraduates and K-12 students involved in SVSU-led science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives.
The Foundation Scholar student recently finished a project on her research of E. coli in storm drains. She was able to present her project at the American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition in San Diego in March. More than 15,000 chemists attended the event, as well as 1,500 students.
Currently, Short is interviewing for positions involving environmental research; particularly water research. Eventually, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in environmental chemistry. Short wants to use her degree to help preserve the environment.
“I see the amount of waste we create,” she said. “People need to be more mindful about what they are doing now, and how it will affect them later. I want to educate people about how to preserve the environment so that future generations can enjoy it as much as I have.”
Short makes a conscious effort everyday to recycle and use less energy and water. She also takes every opportunity to educate people on the effects of putting toxins down drains.
Not only has Short made huge strides toward bettering the environment, but she was also a star athlete for SVSU’s cross country and track teams.
Short was part of the 2011 cross country team that made school history by going to Washington State University for nationals. She went on to compete in four consecutive NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. Short ended her career with two All-American finishes at the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships in 2012 and 2013.
As Short looks back on her athletic career, she is proud of what she has accomplished and how she has challenged herself. She says she has learned the importance of teamwork and how to better handle stressful situations.
“My teammates have become like family to me,” she said. “How can you not bond over 10 800-meter repeats?”
Christina Swain: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: South Lyon
High school: South Lyon
Future: nurse, Indiana University Health
From the moment she arrived at Saginaw Valley State University, Christina Swain knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish.
Swain was an early admit into the nursing program. That is, she applied as a high school senior and had her spot saved for her when she arrived to the university.
The South Lyon native discovered she had a passion for science and teaching during her high school years.
“At first I wanted to be a teacher, but then I took AP [Advanced Placement] chemistry, which got me really interested in science,” she said. “I found that nursing was a way I could combine the two, and I am very happy with my decision.”
That decision has led her to land a job immediately after she receives a bachelor’s degree in nursing from SVSU in May 2016. Swain recently accepted an offer as a nurse in the surgical-trauma unit within Indiana University Health, an Indiana University School of Medicine-affiliated healthcare system in Indiana.
Eventually, she wants to pursue a master’s degree in nursing education. She has a passion for education and would love to teach other nurses. Swain said, eventually, she would like to teach at a university.
SVSU’s nursing program provided Swain with an opportunity to become a senior nursing mentor in SVSU’s simulation lab. There, she was able to help other nursing students excel in the program. According to Swain, academia comes easy, and she has the ability to explain material in a more practical way for students to grasp.
“Christina has been an outstanding student mentor and is respected by her peers, nursing faculty and the simulation educators,” said Sharon Panepucci, simulation lab coordinator. “Her compassion for others and eagerness to learn is going to make her a fantastic nurse.”
Swain was able to leave her footprint behind with her senior thesis project. She wrote a simulation for nursing students about a preterm infant going into respiratory distress. Swain made all the props, set them up and facilitated the simulation. She had so much satisfaction watching her project come together, and was proud to learn that the nursing instructors at SVSU plan to integrate her simulation into the curriculum for future nursing students. Swain will also present her project at a conference in Texas this June.
In addition to her senior thesis project, Swain traveled to Anchorage with a group of nursing students. There, they studied the effects of vitamin D exposure on depression and suicide. They were able to present their studies to the local hospital in Anchorage and at a conference in Milwaukee.
Not only was Swain involved with several prestigious academic projects, but she was also a part of the 2011 SVSU cross country team that made school history by going to Washington State University for nationals. She looks back on her cross-country experience as something that challenged her, but made her an all-around better individual. Swain said she learned a lot from being a student-athlete that she can apply to her professional career, and is grateful for teammates who became like family to her.
Swain is proud of all her accomplishments as she leaves SVSU and is excited to take the next step towards her future.
“I want to make an impact on the nursing profession as a whole,” she said. “I’ve gotten a good start here and I want to take that with me throughout my professional career.”
Nicole Calandrino: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Clinton Township
High School: Chippewa Valley
Future: full-time job with the FDIC
In the depths of a Utah canyon, Nicole Calandrino received a phone call with news that made her want to shout with joy from a mountaintop.
After a nationwide applicant search, the Saginaw Valley State University graduating senior earned a job interview at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the agency created by Congress after the Great Depression to supervise and restore trust in the American banking system.
Calandrino received the news in January 2016 while volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah during an SVSU-sponsored trip with classmates.
“I remember I barely had any cell phone reception the whole time, but then I started to get this call with a Virginia number,” she said. “There was one bar on my phone, and I had to shout to get them to understand me. I almost started crying, I was so happy.”
One month later, the Clinton Township native accepted a job offer — contingent upon her graduation — as a financial institutions specialist at the FDIC’s Grand Rapids office. Now, with her May 2016 graduation date approaching, the economics major is close to fulfilling the final requirement necessary to join the FDIC.
Earning the opportunity was no small feat. Calandrino was one of 1,000 candidates who applied and 93 interviewed for FDIC job openings across the nation earlier this year.
She plans to log her first day at work in July. The accomplishment is the culmination of years of dedicated studies, hard work and recognition as an exceptional student at SVSU.
That SVSU experience almost didn’t happen. After graduating from Chippewa Valley High School in 2011, she originally planned to attend a different higher education institution. But her sister, Heather, who was enrolled at SVSU, convinced the younger Calandrino to visit the campus and sit in on biology class.
Her sibling’s campaigning — along with being offered SVSU’s full-ride President’s Scholarship — led Calandrino to enroll at the Kochville Township university.
“That choice is really paying off now,” she said.
She began her college life with sights set on becoming a biology or chemical researcher, but her interests changed and an opportunity made possible through SVSU led to new aspirations. Through the university’s co-op program, she landed a risk management position at Buena Vista Township-based Nexteer Automotive’s finance department in November 2014.
“That’s been an invaluable experience,” she said. “I’ve been able to coordinate all data for Nexteer’s insurance renewal, work with people in 12 different countries, and help create standard processes for assessing risk worldwide. I discovered I really liked working with numbers.”
Later that year, she was one of a select group of students involved in The Vitito Global Leadership Institute, a three-semester-long student leadership development program offered by SVSU’s College of Business & Management.
“The Vitito program really helped me develop my leadership skills, and focus on international and business leadership,” she said. “Then we traveled to Budapest for eight days, which was amazing. We visited the U.S. embassy and one of the largest banks in Hungary, and talked to entrepreneurs there. I was immersed in the culture.”
She made lifelong friends through the Vitito initiative — along with a key mentor. Through the program, she met Dom Monastiere, SVSU’s Boutell/First Merit Bank Executive in Residence.
When Calandrino saw the FDIC job opening listed on SVSU’s Career Services website in August 2015, she sought advice from Monastiere, who spent 26 years as an executive with Midland-based Chemical Bank.
“He was really helpful in telling me what an FDIC official does and whether it was a good fit for me,” she said. “Normally, I ignore national job openings, but I felt something clicked with this job.”
She said her Nexteer Automotive co-op work and selection as a Vitito Fellow may have helped clinch her the job offer. “Those really set me apart,” she said.
Calandrino’s responsibilities will include working with banking institutions located largely along western Michigan. While those visits won’t send her to any more Utah canyons — or mountaintops, for that matter — Calandrino is thrilled about where SVSU has helped her land.
“I’m excited and ready to get started,” she said.
Madeline Lefere: Portrait of a 2016 SVSU graduate
From: Dundee
High school: Dundee
Major: integrated science education
If teaching isn’t in Madeline Lefere’s DNA, she was certainly empowered with the role of educator at a young age.
It’s a role she doesn’t plan to relinquish as an adult.
Lefere, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in integrated science education from Saginaw Valley State University in May 2016, hopes to secure her first full-time teaching position shortly thereafter.
But she began teaching long before that. Lefere, whose mother taught third grade at a parochial school, is the oldest of four siblings. She also has 35 first cousins — yes, 35.
“My brothers are younger and so are a lot of my cousins, and I was like a teacher figure to them,” said Lefere, a Catholic who started by teaching bedtime prayers to her younger family members.
She also acted as a teacher to those who were older. At age 6, Lefere’s father at times asked her to give lessons to his catechism class.
“Teaching has always been a part of my life,” she said. “I don’t know how to turn it off now.”
During her last semester as an undergraduate, much of that self-discovery continued in a K-12 environment a few miles from campus, at Saginaw Township’s White Pine Middle School.
She began there in January 2016 as a student-teacher for seventh grade science, learning under the tutelage of a full-time educator. One month into the experience, school leaders felt confident enough in the early promise Lefere showed in the classroom that they elevated her to long-term substitute status. She was assigned to educate eighth grade earth science classes until the end of the academic year for a full-time teacher who resigned suddenly.
“This happened in the middle of the week, with no warning,” the Dundee native said of the quick role change. “They asked if I could step in, and I said, ‘Sure, I’m up for the challenge.’”
And it was a challenge. Lefere did not inherit a lesson plan from her predecessor. She improvised much of the material using strategies learned in her SVSU studies as well as the examples set by K-12 teachers who inspired her as a youth.
“For that first unit together, the students and I spent most of the time settling in with each other, and figuring out each other,” she said of her first weeks in the new role. “When you’re a student, and you go half the school year with one teacher, and then there’s a new teacher — and one who was a different gender, too — it can be quite an adjustment.”
Lefere, though, said she wasn’t intimidated. In fact, it has proven to be an exhilarating experience, she said. Many of the lesson plans she designed have involved hands-on experiments — including one activity where students were tasked with creating a diorama of the ocean floor based on a paper mache model that Lefere and her fiancé built.
She said the interactive, hands-on activities — as opposed to book-based assignments — helped better inspire students in their studies of science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM. Building interest in STEM among K-12 students is part of the classroom lesson plan for Lefere, who herself was inspired at a young age to enjoy such studies.
“You hear the word ‘science,’ and a lot of students think they are going to be taking a lot of notes and read a lot of textbooks,” she said.
“There’s so much more to it. There’s a lot of exploration and realizing you can find your own answers by performing experiments and analyzing data. That’s how I felt when I was in high school, and I would like to create that kind of excitement to investigate and explore in my students.”
She said already she’s made that kind of connection for some of her students.
“There are some instances where I could see they hadn’t thought about science in this way before,” Lefere said. “That’s what excites me about teaching.”
When the academic year ends, Lefere said she doesn’t plan on applying for the White Pine Middle School vacancy on a permanent basis. Instead, she will return to her hometown and seek a teaching job close to her family and soon-to-be husband.
Wherever she lands, Lefere is excited for her future as a teacher.
“I’ve learned so much about myself through education and through being an educator,” she said. “It’s a great profession.”
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Family Office in United States, North America
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) is a Family Office located in Princeton, NJ United States, North America. Current Assets for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is $11,911,586,000 and SWFI has 25 periods of historical assets, , 1 transactions, 17 personal contacts available for CSV Export.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Details
Name: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Legal Name: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
DBA: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Type: Family Office
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Contact Information
Address: Route 1 and College Road East, P.O. Box 2316, Princeton, NJ, 08543
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Asset Allocation
Recent News for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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How to change a table tennis habit (even if you’re 80)
I coach a player in his 80s (he wants to remain anonymous, so I’ll call him Harold).
When he was younger Harold was a defensive player. But now he is in his 80s, it’s not so easy for him to run around behind the table and keep retrieving balls. It’s no longer effective for him, as he doesn’t have the physical conditioning to play like this.
So Harold has had to change his playing style, from a defensive chopper to something more attacking, playing closer to the table. This has not been easy. In fact it’s been very difficult. But Harold has made huge progress. And he has succeeded in changing many of his defensive habits.
In this blog post, I’ll explain how Harold has managed to change his habits and how you can change your table tennis habits too.
Transforming Harold
In our first ever coaching session in 2015, Harold turned up with an old pimples bat. He liked to push and swipe and chop but didn’t have any conventional attacking strokes (drives or topspins).
Because of his age, I didn’t want to change too much. I thought it was too late in his life to make big changes to technique. My approach was to take what he already had and make it better.
But Harold wasn’t satisfied with this. His existing defensive playing style was becoming less effective because he didn’t have the speed and agility to keep retrieving balls.
He wanted to change. He wanted to ditch his pimples bat. He wanted to learn how to drive and topspin. He wanted a playing style where he could win points quicker and didn’t need to move around as much. He wanted to change from a defensive player to an attacking player.
I knew this would be a challenge, bearing in mind that Harold was 80. I have numerous habits I have tried to change over the years and I know how hard it can be and how long it can take and I’m in my 30s. But Harold was determined to change, so we went with it.
Fixing the forehand
The toughest challenge we faced was changing Harold’s forehand technique. When he was younger Harold would always chop with his forehand. This means he developed a very strong habit of always doing a backswing where the bat went up, with the bat face open. He must have played this stroke thousands and thousands and thousands of times. So the habit was very ingrained. The pathways in his brain very deep. His muscle memory very established.
This backswing is great for chopping but makes life very difficult if trying to drive or topspin, where the backswing needs to be lower and bat angle more closed.
So we spent session after session after session, trying to change the backswing and bat angle. It could take all session just to get a basic forehand drive working. Progress! But in the next session the backswing swing would revert to his old chopping style. We would repeat everything we’d previously done and get the forehand drive working again. Progress! Then next session, back to the chopping style again.
Sometimes Harold would get the backswing right, but the bat angle would be all wrong and the ball would keep going off the end of the table. Other times the bat angle would be right, but the backswing would be too high and he would hit down on the ball and put it into the net.
At times, I think we both despaired and we had very honest conversations about whether we should continue trying to develop his drives and topspins. It just seemed so hard to change Harold’s technique.
One of the remarkable things about Harold is how determined he is to improve at his age. He didn’t want to give up. Even though it was very difficult for him to change, he embraced the challenge. He wanted to learn and master new techniques. So we kept going.
As the months and years passed, his forehand drive slowly began to improve. Each session it would take less time to get the his forehand drive technique working. His chopping backswing was gradually disappearing. New pathways in Harold’s brain were being formed.
Eventually Harold was able to start a session playing forehand drives with no instruction from me whatsoever. His backswing was in the right place. His bat angle was correct. He could hit, 10, 20, 30 forehand drives with no errors.
Despite being in his 80s, despite having a lifetime of playing his forehand in a certain way, he was able to change. He was able to transform his forehand from a defensive stroke into an attacking stroke.
Learning from Harold
Changing a habit can be very hard. But I find Harold very inspirational. If he can change some heavily ingrained habits in his 80s, then surely anyone can change.
So what can we all learn from Harold? Here’s three things which really stick out for me…
1. Acknowledge the problem and embrace the challenge
I think the first step is to accept that there is something you need to change. In Harold’s case, he knew he couldn’t play his old defensive style effectively anymore because he wasn’t agile enough. If he wanted to keep playing (and being competitive with his peers), he had to change the way he played. Harold completely embraced this massive challenge. He was open-minded. He was prepared to try new things. He knew it would take a lot of work. But he was up for the challenge.
2. Get help from a coach or advanced player
Harold came to me to get help and advice. This accelerated the learning process. I was able to quickly see if there was anything obvious he wasn’t doing correctly and help him fix it. I showed him how to do a forehand drive and gave him drills to practice the shot. I’m sure Harold could have done it without me, but I suspect the process would have taken much longer.
3. Practise, practise, practise
Harold embraced the challenge and sought out expert advice, but none of his improvement would have happened without all the hard work he put in himself. Harold did a lot of practise with his robot at home and during practice sessions. Practise, practise, practise, practise, practise. More practise. Even when he was starting to get it right, he went away to do even more practise. He kept repeating the same action again and again and again (thousands of times) to establish new muscle memory. It was very tough and it took a long time, but he did it!
If you want to change a table tennis habit, you really need to commit to it. You can’t approach the task half-heartedly. Embrace the challenge, get some help and just keep persevering. It can take a long, long time to change a habit – to change your muscle memory – but it can be done. I have done it with my own game (I’ll write about this another time). Harold has done it in his 80s. Go for it and don’t give up!
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Categories TechniqueTags practice, skill development Post navigation
(Video) Improving my backhand flick with Eli Baraty
Gain an advantage over your clubmates this summer
4 thoughts on “How to change a table tennis habit (even if you’re 80)”
Way to go “Harold”!! What was the set up he used and how important is it to change the equipment when you change your style considering one’s age. I’m 62 but like the medium hard sponged rubbers.
In Harold’s case, he wanted to play a conventional forehand drive stroke, which was difficult to do using long pimples. So he had to change rubbers to be able to play the shot. If you are only making small changes to your playing style, I don’t think you need to make major changes to your equipment.
Richard Berke
I am so inspired by ‘Harold’ and your helping him. I’m 62, and overcoming my teens and 20’s playing bad habits. I’ve taken some lessons and have been improving and evolving my game this past 18 months. I hope to continue on this path for another 25 years!
Tom- Thanks so much for your website and youtube videos! Your approach and style resonate so well for me.
Richard Columbia, MD USA
Thanks Richard. I coach so many people in a similar position to you – played when younger, then big gap, then starting again in later life. With some coaching and lots of practice you still have loads of time to get really good at table tennis. Just keep playing!
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Riccardo Muti - Felix Mendelssohn - New Philharmonia Orchestra – Symphony No. 3
itywltmt
, Jan-12-2021 at 09:00 (Pierre's Tuesday Blog)
We restart our bi-monthly Tuesday Blog shares with Vinyl’s Revenge, and an old all-Mendelssohn EMI recording featuring Riccardo Muti and the Philharmonia.
From the late 1950s to the early 1970s the Philharmonia Orchestra's chief conductor was Otto Klemperer, with whom the orchestra gave many concerts and made numerous recordings of the core orchestral repertoire.
In 1972, Klemperer announced his retirement from the directorship of the orchestra (briefly known as the
Classical Music , Conductors , Recorded Music
Mozart, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Symphonies No. 40, 41, Marriage Of Figaro
, Dec-22-2020 at 09:00 (Pierre's Tuesday Blog)
My final Tuesday Blog for 2020 features a CD I acquired in the early 2000’s, from an early set of self-produced discs by the Royal Philharmonic under their own label. These disks, distributed in North America by Intersound, spanned the repertoire from Mozart to Leonard Bernstein.
According to Discogs, this album was originally released in 1993 and features the Royal Philharmonic under guest conductor Jane Glover in a coupling of Mozart’s final two numbered symphonies (40 and 41)
Rachmaninov - Andrei Gavrilov – Piano Concerto Number 3
December’s Vinyl’s Revenge post is a record I acquired when I was a member of the Columbia Record and Tape Club. It is a performance of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto featuring Andrei Gavrilov as soloist. The disc was originally released in the Soviet Union under its flagship Melodiya label, but reissued by CBS Masterworks.
Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya". By 1973, Melodiya released some
Classical Music , Musicians , Recorded Music
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 (Weingartner) (1935)
, Nov-24-2020 at 09:00 (Pierre's Tuesday Blog)
To conclude our #Beethoven2020 series on the Tuesday Blog, we consider Beethoven’s Choral Symphony and Consecration of the House overture, which were both premiered at the same concert, on 7 May 1824.
The recording I selected today is a historic recording featuring Felix Weingartner, a contemporary to Mahler and Toscanini in one of the earliest available recordings of this seminal work . Weingartner was respected as much for his musical scholarship as his conducting. In 1906, he
Stravinsky, Bernstein – Symphony In Three Movements • Symphony In C
We usually take time in November to remember great artists we have lost, and it is in that context that we remember the thirtieth anniversary of the passing of Leonard Bernstein.
Further, this is also “Remembrance Week” (tomorrow being Remembrance Day) and the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is in that context that I am sharing a pair of works by Igor Stravinsky that were composed during the 1939-45 timeframe.
Stravinsky wrote a symphony at the very
Classical Music , Composers , Conductors , Recorded Music
Riccardo Muti - Felix Mendelssohn - New Philharmonia Orchestra – Symphony No. 3 (Pierre's Tuesday Blog)
itywltmt Jan-12-2021
Mozart, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Symphonies No. 40, 41, Marriage Of Figaro (Pierre's Tuesday Blog)
itywltmt Dec-22-2020
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RTA launches trials of ‘Smart Track System’ for Dubai drivers
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched trials of ‘Smart Track System’ for testing applicants of driving licenses in Dubai, supporting the government's drive to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world
“The system is part of driver-testing automation process as it provides an integrated link with an array of smart solutions such as advanced telematics, smart video recording systems, smart sensors and other sophisticated smart technologies,” said Abdullah Al Ali CEO of licensing agency, Sultan Alakraf Director of Drivers Licensing.
The system uses the fourth industrial revolution technologies for the first time in the world such as the smart sensors, deferential geographic positioning system and other sensors fitted to self-driving vehicles.
“The use of advanced technologies in the smart testing system, such as the facial recognition, is not restricted to examinees only, but also includes examiners, thus marks a massive addition to transparency through the total elimination of mistaken identity. It enables the Drivers Licensing Department to follow-up with the sustained quality improvements of testing processes. About 250 light and heavy vehicles, as well as light and heavy buses, have been fitted with the system that is compatible with the 5G Networks,” he explained.
“The ‘Smart Track’ system is capable of interacting with several other systems, such as the smart yard and the centralised training systems. It can transmit data to a driver powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology for analysing driving behaviour,” noted Al Ali.
The ‘Smart Track’ system seeks to improve the road test service for driver license applicants through the automated reading and analysis of applicant skills, which marks the first automated practical road testing of driver license applicants worldwide.
The system further aims to develop a smart app for road testing and link it with a telematics solution to improve operational efficiency. It also aims for improving traffic safety through polishing driving skills and establishing a platform for direct follow-up of testing processes and intervening in case of potential risks.
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Did Amazon Just Move Supercomputing to the Cloud?
By offering GPUs as part of its cloud-based on-demand computing options, Amazon is venturing into territory formerly occupied by scientific supercomputers.
Perhaps it was inevitable: the cloud is already parsing enormous quantities of information at a high speed for the world’s webmasters; why not diversify its processor types and apply that power to problems that previously required in-house supercomputing resources?
Tesla M2050 GPUs are now available in Amazon’s cloud computing offerings
courtesy NVIDIA
That’s the pitch behind Amazon’s new GPU-powered Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) on-demand computing resources, powered by NVIDIA’s Tesla GPUs. Amazon’s on-demand computing resources have long been used for processing chunks of data too large for in-house resources–famously, the New York Times used EC2 to parse 405,000 giant TIFF files in order to make 71 years of its archives available to the public.
Making GPU-based servers that can accomplish the same thing is a logical extension of Amazon’s existing CPU-based server technology. Amazon has also taken extra steps to make sure that these servers are well-suited to high performance computing applications, including 10 Gbps Ethernet interconnects “with the ability to create low latency, full bisection bandwidth HPC clusters.”
What’s especially interesting about this development is that outside of graphics-intensive operations and the odd password crack, for which GPUs are naturally suited, most high performance software has yet to be translated so that it can run on GPU servers. Amazon–not to mention IBM and the other vendors creating the servers that power Amazon’s new offering–are therefore placing a bet on the general utility of GPU servers and the continued migration of software to these platforms.
The migration to GPU computing is by no means assured. Some problems simply may not be transferable, and, as Thom Dunning, director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications told Technology Review not long ago, programming for GPUs remains something of a dark art.
Dunning also admitted, however, that current approaches to supercomputing can’t get us to the next generation of computing power, and that GPU computers might be a step in the right direction.
Possibly the most notable feature of Amazon’s “new” offering is how much it resembles existing supercomputing setups, at least from an end-user’s perspective. Most scientists and even businesses reserve or buy time on existing systems, which are kept fully booked in order to fully utilize them. By provisioning supercomputing resources in the cloud, Amazon is simply making itself a potential vendor of choice for scientists and engineers who would otherwise obtain the same services from their university’s supercomputing center or consortium.
If Amazon can provide those resources at a lower price, it’s worth asking whether the company is about to eat the lunch of low and mid-level supercomputing centers, leaving only the largest and most specialized HPC resources in demand.
Follow Mims on Twitter or contact him via email.
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Bug In Facebook May Have Unblocked People You Blocked
Posted by Dan McCoy On July 11, 2018
Facebook recently announced a site bug that impacted the privacy settings of more than 800,000 of its users. If you're one of the unfortunate souls who has been affected, then people you had formerly blocked may have become unblocked, and can now see your posts.
For many people, that's not a huge deal. In some cases, say for example, if you blocked your ex-girlfriend, boyfriend, or wife and were impacted, they may be able to see things you don't want them to.
Facebook's official statement in response to the matter provided additional details and said that 83 percent of the people who were impacted only had one person on their blocked list temporarily unblocked, and that the situation had been remedied.
Of significance, the bug did not allow unblocked users to see content shared by friends of those who had blocked them, and it did not reinstate a "severed" friendship on the system. In some cases, however, someone who had been blocked may have been able to establish (or attempt to establish) a Facebook Messenger communication with the person who had blocked them.
The bug was active between May 29th and June 5th, and was caused when a small amount of data governing "associations" between users was deleted. When the data was restored, the issue went away on its own.
The number of impacted users may sound grim, but given the legions of people who use Facebook, it's actually a drop in the bucket. Even so, Facebook's response was immediate, decisive, and the company took actions to reassure its user base that the issue had been resolved and they would take steps to see that it did not happen again.
Nice words, but given the intense scrutiny Facebook has been under in recent months, blunders like this one only underscore that the company still has a lot of work to do where privacy is concerned.
Non-Updated Android Phones Vulnerable To NFC Beaming Hacks
Hackers Are Exploiting Home And Small Office Routers
Update Any Nest Cam Security Cameras You May Own
Microsoft Releasing Feature To Help With Malicious Files Like Ransomware
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If you think this number has harassed you and you want to take legal action against the caller, you can report the case to the authorities or find yourself a lawyer. But before you take this action, make sure that you have enough information about the call, e.g. the name of the caller, the company name, the exact time of the call, etc. It’s also important that you know which rights you have and which laws the caller have violated. This can make your argument stronger. Therefore, we have collected the most important laws about your rights for data protection on this page.
Do you need Legal Advice? – Ask a Solicitor now!
Legal proceedings have a number of complexities and variations. Regardless of the legal situation you are in, it is easy to end up at a loss for what you have to do next. A legal guide is available, but there are so many branches and specializations that it would be right to worry about wasting time with the wrong supplier.
You don’t have to make an appointment in advance for legal advice. JustAnswer has many legal experts who adapt to your schedule and get in touch with you so that you get the help you need. To ensure that you get support as soon as possible, take detailed notes about your situation.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) & The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)
The GDPR aims primarily to give control to citizens and residents over their personal data. GDPR forms part of the data protection regime in the UK, together with the new Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and replaces the DPA 1998. It still has the purpose of personal data protection and the need of consent for the use of personal data, but the new laws also expanded the definition of user’s personal data and especially the definition of a consent. Consent must be an active, affirmative action by the data subject, rather than the passive acceptance under some current models that allow for pre-ticked boxes or opt-outs. Companies must keep a record of how and when an individual gave consent, and that individual may withdraw their consent whenever they want.
Privacy Electronic Communication Regulations 2003 (PECR)
In short the EC Directive renders the transmission of recorded messages for marketing purposes without the receiver’s consent unlawful. Not only does the EC Directive include phone calls but also contains email and SMS messages. After the enforcement of GDPR in May 2018, there has been a change in the definition of a consent. Further information can be found here.
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
In order to uphold the consumer rights and data protection the office of the Information Commissioner (ICO) was created and carries out this responsibility across the UK. The ICO is charged with the enforcement of the regulations provided by DPA and EC Directive and employs a number of tools to tackle misuse of personal data. The tools range from criminal prosecution to audit and can serve a monetary penalty. The highest penalty levied thus far on a single company accounted for £ 300 000.
In addition, the ICO and branches of the mobile phone industry work together in an attempt to identify nuisance caller and spam SMS senders. With respect to the DPA, marketing calls and SMS messages are obliged to comply with the individual’s consent to receive such marketing measures. Furthermore, even if you receive calls or texts, both of them are legally bound to provide the opportunity to opt out from additional messages. As far as SMS messages are concerned sent „STOP“ to the sender. If these calls and SMS messages do not stop, they breach regulation formulated in the DPA and EC Directive. Your are strongly advised to consult the ICO.
Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a register which enables the individual to opt out from nuisance calls. Companies are legally obliged to respect registered numbers and to not call them. After an individual registers with the TPS for free it takes up to 28 days until becomes effective. Although reputable companies comply with the TPS, spam and scam calls – often from abroad and disguised as a local number via spoofing – are on the rise and hard to counter since the ICO’s and TPS‘ authority is restricted to the UK only. If you experience ongoing nuisance calls you also can file a complaint with the TPS. In terms of SMS spam you are advised to forward the spam message to your provider using following numbers:
Orange, O2 and T-Mobile: Forward the SMS to 7726
Vodafone: Forward the SMS to 7726 or 87726
Three: Forward the SMS to 7726 or 37726
Further information about spam messages.
Next Step Callblockers
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Against the Night by Kat Martin
He knows what goes on in the dark.
She’s got the face of an angel and the body of…well, isn’t that what he’d expect from an exotic dancer? But there’s something about this girl that Johnnie Riggs can’t shake. The former army ranger is hot on the trail of an elusive drug lord—and suddenly very hot under the collar, as well.
Amy’s got her own agenda to pursue: her sister is missing and Amy seems to be the only one who cares. She’ll enlist Johnnie’s help and do her best to ignore her growing attraction to finally get some answers. But when the two trails begin to converge and reveal something even more sinister than they imagined, their mutual desire is the least of their problems. They’ll bring the truth to light…or die trying.
An excerpt from AGAINST THE NIGHT:
Johnnie Riggs was a night owl. A former Army Ranger with a PI’s license, Johnnie spent most of his time in the bars and clubs of Los Angeles, digging up information for clients who could afford his fees. And the occasional recovery job, if the money was high enough.
Which was the reason that tonight he sat at a table at the Kitty Cat Club on Sunset Boulevard, watching a little blond pole dancer with the hottest body he’d ever seen and trying like hell not to get an erection.
Johnnie reached for the Bud Light sitting in front of him, took a swallow and set the barely touched bottle back down on the table. He wasn’t there to get drunk. He wasn’t there to get turned on by some sexy little piece of fluff.
He was there to make a collar and a nice chunk of change.
He glanced around the club, one of the better-run strip joints in the area, a place an out-of-town businessman could go for a little harmless fun and not feel like he was about to get mugged when he walked outside to catch a cab.
Johnnie knew the owner, a guy named Tate Watters, a reasonable sort who ran a clean operation. Tate knew Johnnie was there to collect a skip, but he was a stand-up guy who did his best to stay on the right side of the law, and having a pervert around–Johnnie’s target–wasn’t good for business.
It was dark inside the club except for the neon beer signs behind the bar, the soft glow of lights over gilt-framed photos of nineteen fifties strippers that hung on the walls. A row of colored spotlights lit the woman performing on stage. Read More
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“With sleaze, sex and sizzle twisted into a complicated plot with strong characters and nasty villains, and set against the backdrop of Hollywood’s strip clubs, Against the Night will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Here’s an irresistible tough guy with a marshmallow center and the sassiest kindergarten teacher to ever shake her booty wrapped up in a dangerous, action-packed adventure that both know will end in heartbreak. Martin’s fans will be thoroughly satisfied and looking eagerly forward to her next book.” ~Romantic Times Book reviews – 4 1/2 STARS
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and History. Currently residing with her Western-author husband, Larry Jay Martin, in Missoula, Montana, Kat has written over thirty bestselling novels, including Historical, Romantic Suspense, and Contemporary. Over ten million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in a dozen foreign countries. Among her many awards, Kat has won the prestigious Romantic Times Magazine Career Achievement Award. She is currently working on her next novel.
“It was quite a romantic story,” she admits. “I’d still like to see it get published.” Then, after doing some editing for her future husband, she thought she’d try her own hand at writing.
Kat moved on to become the bestselling author of over fifty historical and contemporary romance novels. To date, 12 million copies of her books are in print, and she’s been published around the globe, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, Estonia, Lithuania, South Africa, Italy, Poland, Thailand, Portugal, Turkey, The Slovak Republic, Spain, Argentina, Estonia, Czech Republic and Greece.
When she’s not writing, Kat also enjoys skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe. Currently, she’s busy writing her next book.
To learn more about Kat, please visit her website and ‘LIKE’ her on Facebook.
Start Shooting by Charlie Newton
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen
ITW February 29, 2012
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PAUL BRIAN: Beware perils of pot psychosis
Published: Oct 31, 2015 at 6 a.m.
Pot is potentially psychologically dangerous in the short and long-term in unpredictable and extreme ways.
Hopefully, Justin Trudeau will take the scientific evidence into account about the potential dangers of marijuana, including its ability to trigger panic attack disorders, anxiety, depression, paranoid psychosis and schizophrenia, before moving ahead with full legalization.
These risks are amplified if there's a family history of mental illness. While the majority of adverse affects for users may range from minor memory loss or paranoia to lethargy, the more serious impacts of "bad trips" and negative reactions can be truly devastating.
Imagine feeling physically and mentally like you are dying after smoking pot and then waking up for the next five years feeling full of paranoia, disorientation and dissociation because it has triggered a psychosis and panic attack disorder.
Much material has been published about the health and potential mental benefits of medical marijuana. There's also been muted criticism of legalization because of the danger that minors will get more access to the drug or that it will lead to overall social deterioration. It stands to reason, however, that the aspect of psychological dangers be fully investigated before the Liberal majority government moves ahead with its promise.
An Australian study last year found that daily pot users are up to seven times more likely to commit suicide, 60 per cent less likely to finish high school or to get a college degree and are eight times more likely to use illegal drugs later in life.
A 2015 British study cited in the Lancet medical journal found that daily pot users are five times more likely to develop psychosis. It further found that exposure to high-potency "skunk" marijuana was the largest single factor in the development of psychosis in the 461 mentally ill patients they assessed.
Nor has Colorado, which would serve as Canada's model for legalization, enjoyed a smooth journey, with at least two deaths attributable to pot use, according to the New York Times, including a man who murdered his family after ingesting edible pot candies and another who became panicked and jumped off a balcony to his death.
Crime in Colorado has dropped, and obviously masses of people are not smoking pot and dying, but the state does have a full-fledged mental health crisis on its hands and its suicide rate has risen to the sixth-highest in the United States. Attributing that alarming statistic to pot use would be speculation at best, particularly as long-term data about rising ER visits and mental illness is not yet available, but it is worth noting a possible correlation in rising suicide rates and the more widespread use of pot in the state.
Colorado's legalization has been a revenue windfall, as it would be for Canada, but at what psychological cost? One in three Canadians polled support legalization of pot, but what is concerning is the assumption, especially among many who have never really looked into pot or used it, that increased pot use is inherently benign. This broader attitude is what should really cause parents concern.
As for the false parallel pot advocates draw with alcohol, that's another matter. Alcohol is more physically dangerous and certainly can contribute to a host of psychological difficulties, although it doesn't tend to produce psychosis when a young adult first has two beers. Another problem is that the blood-alcohol levels can be easily measured in roadside tests, while the THC blood content from pot cannot be easily assessed.
Trudeau hasn't elaborated on specifics of the legalization process and the timeline is unclear, although he has said it is one of his priorities.
The fact is that treating pot as just another regulated substance like alcohol or tobacco or a medicine like Tylenol is, simply put, absurd. Presumably, advocates of weed legalization are aware that the mental illnesses it can trigger last years and be very serious. That said, perhaps legalization will result in weed with lower THC content and stronger regulation, as well as public education, which would be a big plus. But if the media and government keep advancing the idea that it is basically harmless, we will all be poorly informed and youth will be in danger.
Assuming legalization for recreational purposes does go ahead, all products should carry a warning that marijuana is a powerful psychoactive substance causing unpredictable and sometimes alarming reactions.
Trudeau has said his research led him to the conclusion that pot is no more harmful than cigarettes or alcohol. This is a deceptive statement, perhaps unintentionally so. Physically, it's true, but psychologically, pot is far more unpredictable. The next time someone smokes a cigar and begins to feel that they're about to die, do let us know, Justin.
A surprising amount of people either don't know about the psychiatric dangers of pot or believe it can only happen to people who are already mentally unstable. That is not the case. Let's see the coming debate as an opportunity for greater education.
Paul Brian is a freelance journalist who lives on Vancouver Island.
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The Capture of Santa Anna
This marker commemorates the capture of Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on April 22, 1836, a day after the Battle of San Jacinto which resulted in a resounding Texan victory and ultimately the establishment of the Republic of Texas. The battle lasted a surprisingly short 18 minutes and it was a total defeat for the Mexicans who were caught in a surprise attack. Santa Anna managed to escape, disguising himself as a just a regular soldier. The Texan general, Sam Houston, ordered troops to search for escaping Mexican troops. The next day, a group of Texan soldiers found Santa Anna somewhere in this area (the exact location is unclear) although they did not know it was him at first. It was only when they brought Santa Anna back to the Texan camp that his identity was finally revealed. Mexican soldiers, upon seeing him, immediately declared "El Presidente!" and saluted him. He was taken to Sam Houston, who spared his life and allowed him to write an order to his armies to retreat back to Mexico. In the coming days the Treaty of Velasco was negotiated between Mexico and officials of the nascent Republic of Texas. Santa Anna was taken to Velasco to sign the treaty and was then sent back to Mexico.
The marker commemorating the capture of President Santa Anna on April 22, 1836.
Upon returning to Mexico, Santa Anna was obviously not a popular figure. However, the political situation in Mexico for the next couple decades was quite fluid, allowing him to take advantage of the situation and become leader of Mexico again eleven times. He was overthrown for the last time in 1855. He died a penniless man in 1876 at the age of 82.
"The Capture of Santa Anna." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed July 24, 2017. https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=60821,
"General Santa Anna dies in Mexico City." History.com. Accessed July 24, 2017. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/general-santa-anna-dies-in-mexico-city.
Sproat, Leslie. "Capture Site of Santa Anna." Sam Houston State University. Accessed July 24, 2017. http://easttexashistory.org/items/show/142.
"Surrender Of Santa Anna." Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Accessed July 24, 2017. [This is a personal account given under oath about the surrender of Santa Anna by Texan soldier John Forbes] https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/republic/san-jacinto/surrender.html.
Photo: Jim Evans, via the Historical Marker Database
Last updated by Clio Admin on July 24th 2017, 11:50:45 pm.
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Community Development and Youth Work (endorsed route) BA (Hons)
UCAS CODE: L540
Our BA (Hons) in Community Development and Youth Work is the first in North West England to offer dual professional recognition from the NYA and ESB. Incorporating 800 hours field work experience, it offers the flexible and adaptable skills and knowledge needed for a career making a real difference to young people and communities.Recognised by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and endorsed by the Endorsement Standards Board for Community Development (ESB) and National Youth Agency (NYA), the course involves 800 hours of fieldwork practice. Work-based learning through fieldwork placements, and academic studies that support the development of knowledge and skills for practice, are central to this course.The core values of community development and youth work are at the heart of this degree. Our passionate and knowledgeable staff will guide you to explore issues such as social education, social policy, community engagement, politics, globalisation, social justice, equality and diversity, social history, housing and homelessness. You'll also be supported to develop key transferable skills such as communication, self-awareness and time management.Fieldwork placements or work-based learning could be in a number of distinct settings that work to improve the lives of people in communities and young people, preparing you to adapt to the changing environments in which you may be employed in future.
UCAS Points : 96
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics.
University of Bolton, Deane Road, Bolton, Bolton, BL3 5AB, England
Working with Children, Young People and Families BA (Hons)
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Defense Attorney Ratchets Up Criticism of Orange County DA and Snitch Scandal
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer discusses voter fraud at a press conference in Santa Ana, Calif., on Oct. 5, 2020. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)
Anaheim Man Sentenced for Stabbing Committed While Out of Jail on $0 Bail
By Drew Van Voorhis
A 24-year-old Anaheim man was handed a 12-year prison sentence on Dec. 4 for stabbing his ex-girlfriend weeks after being released from the Orange County Jail on a $0 bail.
Miguel Angel Reyes was convicted of misdemeanor vandalism in March, but on April 6 the California Judicial Council set bail at $0 for most misdemeanors and some lower felonies in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in crowded prison populations.
While still in custody for vandalism and waiting for a retrial on a felony gang enhancement, an Orange County Superior Court judge granted a motion from Reyes’ public defender for Reyes to be released April 24 under the new emergency order.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office noted on the record that it objected to the release.
“Adopting a sweeping one size fits all $0 bail policy has resulted in the release of dangerous and violent individuals back into our community,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a Dec. 4 press release.
“We didn’t need the $0 bail experiment to tell us what we already knew: when you let criminals out of jail, they will commit more crimes.”
On March 16, 3 1/2 weeks after Reyes was released, Reyes and his ex-girlfriend, 17-year-old Jolina Ramirez, became embroiled in a fight at an Anaheim park that involved Ramirez’s friends.
Ramirez threw a brick at Reyes, which prompted him to fatally stab her with a knife, according to the press release. The victim was rushed to the University of California–Irvine Medical Center in Orange, but didn’t survive the wounds.
Reyes was convicted Oct. 5 of one felony count of voluntary manslaughter, for which he received the maximum prison sentence of 11 years in state prison, and one felony enhancement of the personal use of a deadly weapon, which added another year to his sentence.
Reyes still faces the original charge of felony gang enhancement. If convicted, he will be sentenced to an additional two years for committing a crime while out on bail, and another eight months for the actual charge.
The California Judicial Council rescinded the $0 bail order on June 20.
Spitzer said: “This is just another example of this reckless policy resulting in the loss of a young life when its intended purpose was to save lives. It is an unforgivable tragedy that a 17-year-old girl is dead—and she didn’t have to die.”
Follow Drew on Twitter: @DrewVanVoorhis
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Should we worry about soya in our food?
Whether you know it or not, you'll probably be eating soya today. It's in 60% of all processed food, from cheese to ice cream, baby formula to biscuits. But should it carry a health warning? Felicity Lawrence investigates
Harvested, unprocessed soya beans
Felicity Lawrence
For Dr Mike Fitzpatrick, the saga of soya began in Monty Python-style with a dead parrot. His investigations into the ubiquitous bean started in 1991 when Richard James, a multimillionaire American lawyer, turned up at the laboratory in New Zealand where Fitzpatrick was working as a consultant toxicologist. James was sure that soya beans were killing his rare birds.
"We thought he was mad, but he had a lot of money and wanted us to find out what was going on," Fitzpatrick recalls.
Over the next months, Fitzpatrick carried out an exhaustive study of soya and its effects. "We discovered quite quickly," he recalls, "that soya contains toxins and plant oestrogens powerful enough to disrupt women's menstrual cycles in experiments. It also appeared damaging to the thyroid." James's lobbying eventually forced governments to investigate. In 2002, the British government's expert committee on the toxicity of food (CoT) published the results of its inquiry into the safety of plant oestrogens, mainly from soya proteins, in modern food. It concluded that in general the health benefits claimed for soya were not supported by clear evidence and judged that there could be risks from high levels of consumption for certain age groups. Yet little has happened to curb soya's growth since.
More than 60% of all processed food in Britain today contains soya in some form, according to food industry estimates. It is in breakfast cereals, cereal bars and biscuits, cheeses, cakes, dairy desserts, gravies, noodles, pastries, soups, sausage casings, sauces and sandwich spreads. Soya, crushed, separated and refined into its different parts, can appear on food labels as soya flour, hydrolysed vegetable protein, soy protein isolate, protein concentrate, textured vegetable protein, vegetable oil (simple, fully, or partially hydrogenated), plant sterols, or the emulsifier lecithin. Its many guises hint at its value to manufacturers.
Soya increases the protein content of processed meat products. It replaces them altogether in vegetarian foods. It stops industrial breads shrinking. It makes cakes hold on to their water. It helps manufacturers mix water into oil. Hydrogenated, its oil is used to deep-fry fast food.
Soya is also in cat food and dog food. But above all it is used in agricultural feeds for intensive chicken, beef, dairy, pig and fish farming. Soya protein - which accounts for 35% of the raw bean - is what has made the global factory farming of livestock for cheap meat a possibility. Soya oil - high in omega 6 fatty acids and 18% of the whole bean - has meanwhile driven the postwar explosion in snack foods around the world. Crisps, confectionery, deep-fried take-aways, ready meals, ice-creams, mayonnaise and margarines all make liberal use of it. Its widespread presence is one of the reasons our balance of omega 3 to omega 6 essential fatty acids is so out of kilter.
You may think that when you order a skinny soya latte, you are choosing a commodity blessed with an unadulterated aura of health. But soya today is in fact associated with patterns of food consumption that have been linked to diet-related diseases. And 50 years ago it was not eaten in the west in any quantity.
In 1965, the earliest year for which the Chicago Board of Trade keeps figures, global soya bean production was just 30m tonnes. By 2005, the world was consuming nine times that a year, at 270m tonnes. World soya oil production, meanwhile, has increased sevenfold over the same period, from 5m tonnes to 34m tonnes a year.
To feed demand, new agricultural frontiers are being opened up in Brazil, where large areas of virgin rainforest have been illegally felled to make room for the crop. US-based transnationals are now exporting soya back to China, the country from which it originated, as newly urbanised Chinese switch to industrialised western diets. Thanks to US agribusiness, we have developed an apparently insatiable global appetite for the bean produced by farmers in the Americas.
James and Fitzpatrick became convinced early on that this entirely new dependence on soya was, in fact, a dangerous experiment. The dead parrots were no joke - they were the canaries in the coalmine.
For James and his wife Valerie, breeding the exotic birds down under was a retirement dream. They wanted to feed their young birds the best, so they began giving the chicks a soya feed. Parrots do not eat soya beans in the wild but the high-protein animal feed had been marketed in the US as a new miracle food.
The result was a catastrophic breeding year. Some of the birds were infertile; many died. Other young male birds aged prematurely or reached puberty years early. "We realised there was some sort of hormonal disruption going on but we'd eliminated other possible hormone disrupting chemicals such as pesticides from the inquiry," Fitzpatrick says.
So the toxicologist began a systematic review of the scientific literature on soya. After finding out about the plant oestrogens in soya, Fitzpatrick says, "My next thought was: what about children who are fed soya milk?" He calculated that babies fed exclusively on soya formula could receive the oestrogenic equivalent, based on body weight, of five birth control pills a day.
In fact, it had been known since the early 1980s that plant oestrogens, or phyto-oestrogens, could produce biological effects in humans. The most common of these were a group of compounds in soya protein called isoflavones. Food manufacturers had variously marketed soya foods as an antidote to menopausal hot flushes and osteoporosis, and as a protective ingredient against cardiovascular disease and hormone-related cancers. Large quantities of mainly industry-sponsored scientific research have been produced to back up these claims. The American soya industry spends about $80m every year, raised from a mandatory levy on producers, to research and promote the consumption of soya around the world. The rash of new soya foods can be seen as the latest in a line of innovative ways devised to use soya.
The hypothesis behind the health claims is that rates of heart disease and certain cancers such as breast and prostate cancer are lower in east Asian populations with soya-rich diets than in western countries, and that the oestrogens in soya might therefore have a protective effect.
Fitzpatrick, however, looked into historic soya consumption in Japan and China and concluded that Asians did not actually eat that much. What they did eat tended to have been fermented for months. "If you look at people who are into health fads here, they are eating soya steaks and veggie burgers or veggie sausages and drinking soya milk - they are getting over 100g a day. They are eating tonnes of the raw stuff."
Mass exposure to isoflavones in the west has only occurred in the past 30 years due to the widespread incorporation of soya protein into processed foods, a fact noted by the Royal Society in its expert report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in 2000. When the independent experts on the scientific committee on toxicity trawled through all the scientific data, they concluded that soya milk should not be recommended for infants even when they had cow's milk allergies, except on medical advice, because of the high levels of oestrogenic isoflavones it contains.
On breast cancer, they decided that "despite the suggested benefits of phyto-oestrogens in lowering risk of developing breast cancer, there is also evidence that they may stimulate the progression of the disease". The lower risk of certain cancers among Asian populations might be due to other factors - their high consumption of fish, for example. They advised caution. On the effects on menopause symptoms, the evidence was inconclusive, the experts ruled. On bone density, the committee thought there might be some protective effects, but the data was unclear. The evidence on prostate cancer was mixed. Since isoflavones cross the placenta, the implications of pregnant women eating large quantities of soya were unclear. There was some evidence that soya-based products had a beneficial effect on the good HDL cholesterol but they were not sure that was down to the isoflavones. On the other hand - reassuringly - they judged that a study linking soya consumption to decline in cognitive function was not convincing.
What the committee also pointed out was that the way soya was processed affected the levels of phyto-oestrogens. Traditional fermentation reduces the levels of isoflavones two- to threefold. Modern factory processes do not. Moreover, modern American strains of soya have significantly higher levels of isoflavones than Japanese or Chinese ones because they have been bred to be more resistant to pests. (One way to tackle pests is to stop them breeding by making them infertile. It turns out that unfermented soya did play one role in traditional Asian diets - it was eaten by monks to dampen down their libido.)
Sue Dibb, now food policy expert at the National Consumer Council, was a member of the CoT working group that compiled the final report. She questions whether infant soya milk should still be on public sale and is troubled by the latest marketing of soya. "We looked in detail at the claimed health benefits for adults for soya consumption and concluded there was not sufficient evidence to support many of them. There may be benefits but there are also risks. The groups of adults of particular concern are those with a thyroid problem and women with oestrogen-dependent breast cancer. It worries me that soya is being pushed as a health food by a big soya and supplements industry. We ought to be taking a more cautious approach."
The Food Standards Agency advice is that soya's potential to have an adverse effect on babies' hormonal development is still controversial, but that soya formula should only be given to infants under 12 months old in exceptional circumstances.
Professor Richard Sharpe, head of the Medical Research Council's human reproductive sciences unit at Edinburgh University, was also a member of the committee's working group on phyto-oestrogens in food. He has been studying the decline in male fertility in the past half-century. He recently completed studies on the effects of soya milk on young male monkeys which showed that it interferes with testosterone levels. "In the first three months after birth, baby boys have a neonatal testosterone rise. The testes are very, very active in hormone production at this point and there is a lot of cell activity going on that will determine sperm count in adults and will affect the developing prostate. If you introduce a phyto-oestrogen, which can, in large amounts, alter these changes, you may predispose children to later disease. Soya formula milk is a [recent] western invention. There is not the historical evidence to show it is safe."
Manufacturers, however, argue that soya infant formula has been widely used without problems. "The industry has said that if the CoT comes up with clear science, we will take note, but the case is not proven," says Roger Clarke, director general of the industry's Infant Dietetics Food Association. "A lot of the work it looked at was based on experimental work with animals. There does not seem to be clear evidence of adverse effects, and there is demand for it. There are some markets, such as vegan usage, where soya is the only alternative."
While 30-40% of all infants in the US are raised on soya formula - not least because it is given away in welfare programmes - soya milk for babies has always been confined to a small minority in the UK. So does Sharpe think exposure to soya from other sources - vegetarian soya proteins, the soya flour in factory bread, the hydrolysed proteins added as flavourings, for example - has a cumulative effect that might be worrying to other age groups? He says he is not concerned about people who eat soya foods in moderation or in the way they are traditionally used in oriental diets, but when it comes to modern processed foods, which use soya proteins in different ways, he prefers to turn the question round. "If someone said they were adding a hormone to your foods, would you be happy with that? There may be lots of effects, some of them may be beneficial, but would you be happy with that? I am not a fan of processed foods, full stop. And these quick fixes for protecting against ill-health - you know they can't be true," he adds.
A steaming hiss fills the kitchen of the top London restaurant Nobu, even after the lunchtime rush. Japanese chefs are filleting the evening's fish while stock bubbles and concentrates in its stainless steel vat behind. Executive chef Mark Edwards hands me a teaspoon of one of his soy sauces. Cool from the fridge, it is thick, rich, dark and sweet, yet remarkably clear from its long fermentation. The miso that he uses to marinade his famous black cod for three days is dense and strong from its lengthy brew too. Muslin cloths envelop delicate curds of tofu, made fresh each day and added in small cubes to miso soup.
Soya is used in traditional oriental diets in these forms, after cultures, moulds or precipitants have achieved a biochemical transformation, because in its raw form the mature bean is known not only for its oestrogenic qualities but for also its antinutrients, according to the clinical nutritionist Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story. Soya was originally grown in China as a green manure, for its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil, rather than as a food crop, until the Chinese discovered ways of fermenting it, she says.
The young green beans, now sold as a fashionable snack, edamame, are lower in oestrogens and antinutrients, though not free of them. But raw mature soya beans contain phytates that prevent mineral absorption and enzyme inhibitors that block the key enzymes we need to digest protein. They are also famous for inducing flatulence.
Christopher Dawson, who owns the Clearspring brand of organic soy sauces, agrees. He lived in Japan for 18 years and his Japanese wife, Setsuko, is a cookery teacher. "I never saw soy beans on the table in Japan - they're indigestible."
Dawson describes the traditional craft method of transforming the soya bean through fermentation, so that its valuable amino acids become available but its antinutrients are tamed. The process involves cooking whole soya beans, complete with their oil, for several hours, then adding the spores of a mould to the mix, and leaving it to ferment for three days to begin the long process of breaking down the proteins and starches. This initial brew is then mixed with salt water and left to ferment for a further 18 months, during which time the temperature will vary with the seasons. The end result is an intensely flavoured condiment in which the soya's chemical composition has been radically altered. Traditional miso is similarly made with natural whole ingredients, slowly aged.
Most soya sauces (and misos) are not made this way any more, however. Instead of using the whole bean, manufacturers short-cut the fermentation by starting with defatted soy protein meal. Soya veggie burgers and sausages generally use the same chemically extracted fraction of the bean.
This meal is the product of the industrial crushing process the vast majority of the world's soya beans go through. The raw beans are broken down to thin flakes, which are then percolated with a petroleum-based hexane solvent to extract the soya oil. The remains of the flakes are toasted and ground to a protein meal, most of which goes into animal feed. Soya flour is made in a similar way.
The oil then goes through a process of cleaning, bleaching, degumming and deodorising to remove the solvent and the oil's characteristic "off" smells and flavours. The lecithin that forms a heavy sludge in the oil during storage used to be regarded as a waste product, but now it has been turned into a valuable market in its own right as an emulsifier.
In so-called "naturally brewed" soya sauces the processed soy protein meal is mixed with the mould spores and given accelerated ageing at high temperatures for three to six months. Non-brewed soya sauce, the cheapest grade, is made in just two days. Defatted soya flour is mixed with hydrochloric acid at high temperatures and under pressure to create hydrolysed vegetable protein. Salt, caramel and chemical preservatives and flavourings are then added to provide colour and taste. This rapid hydrolysis method uses the enzyme glutamase as a reactor and creates large amounts of the unnatural form of glutamate that is found in MSG.
Most commercial soya milk today is made from soya isolates, although some of the pioneers of soya foods as health products in Europe avoid the chemical extraction process and use whole beans to make their milk. The key selling points for both types of soya milk are that they contain complete proteins and oestrogenic isoflavones.
Bernard Deryckere, president of the European Natural Soyfood Manufacturers Association, says that his members' products, made using natural processes, are a healthy alternative to diary products. "A lot of people in Europe are lactose-intolerant. Soya milk was invented in China 4,000 years ago and today it's consumed by all types of people as a cholesterol-free source of quality protein."
Daniel's detailed examination of the history of soya milk, however, suggests that soya milk was made not to drink, except in times of famine, but as the first step in the process of making tofu. After the long, slow boiling of soya beans in water to eliminate toxins, a curdling agent was added to the liquid to separate it. The curds would then be pressed to make tofu and the whey, in which the antinutrients were concentrated, would be thrown away.
Dibb points out that if you are drinking non-dairy milk because you want calcium without cow's milk, there are plenty of other sources such as green leafy vegetables and nuts. And only those eating extremely limited diets are likely to be short of protein as adults.
Dawson, a lifelong vegetarian, does not drink soya milk and only eats tofu in moderation. "I will only use a product for my family if there is 200 years of tradition behind it. You are asking for trouble if you take an isolate from soya - yet so much effort seems to go into taking industry's waste and turning it into new food."
The effort that has gone into creating the global soya market has indeed been enormous. Today it is dominated by a handful of American trading companies. Three of them - Bunge, ADM and Cargill - control 80% of the European soya bean crushing industry. These three, together with allied companies, are also estimated to control up to 80% of European animal feed manufacturing. They dominate the US soya market, and also account for 60% of Brazil's soya exports.
Before the first world war, only a very few soya beans were crushed. The Americans had begun experimenting with using the protein meal as animal feed, but farmers were reluctant to take it up because it was indigestible to chicken and pigs. The oil produced was considered "a bit of an embarrassment", according to Kurt Burger, a fats and oils technical expert at the Society of Chemical Industry, whose experience in the food industry goes back to 1944. It was mainly used in soaps because it was considered unpalatable. (Henry Ford later funded research projects to turn soya into plastic for car parts.)
Cottonseed oil, a byproduct of the cotton industry, was the main edible oil used in the US. But then the combination of disease in monocropped cotton and demand from European allies in the first world war for oil both to eat and to make the glycerine needed for nitroglycerine in explosives, stimulated American soy oil production.
It was not until the 1940s that industry worked out how to deactivate the enzyme inhibitor in the protein meal sufficiently for animals to tolerate it, and it was only technology taken from the Nazis at the end of the second world war that solved the problem of the oil's horrible smell and flavour. That left the way for the US to promote the soya that suited its agricultural conditions as part of the reconstruction of Europe through the 1950s. Soya oil exports to Europe tripled under the Marshall Plan, and heavily subsidised exports of surplus US soya ensured the commodity's dominance in animal feed. The subsidies continue. Between 1998 and 2004, US Department of Agriculture figures show that its soya farming received $13bn in subsidies from the American taxpayer.
Until 2003, the US was the largest exporter of soya. But through the 1990s, multinationals promoted the expansion of the crop in Latin America, helping finance farmers and building the infrastructure for soya exports. The attraction of Latin America is that land is cheap and labour costs are minimal too. Three years ago, the combined exports from Brazil and Argentina surpassed US exports for the first time. The cost is now being counted there in environmental damage and social upheaval. The cost to western consumers may yet be counted in health.
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Ethiopia accuses WHO chief of backing defiant Tigray region
NAIROBI, November 19, 2020 17:30 IST
The country’s army chief levelled allegations in front of the press without any evidences to back his claim.
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. File | Photo Credit: Reuters
Ethiopia’s government is accusing the head of the World Health Organization, a fellow Ethiopian, of lobbying neighboring countries to come to the aid of the country’s rebellious Tigray regional government with arms and other support.
Ethiopia’s army chief, Gen. Birhanu Jula, asserted to reporters on Wednesday that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged unnamed neighbors to “oppose the war and for (the Tigray People’s Liberation Front) to get arms.”
Watch | Explained: Ethiopia's political crisis
The army chief did not provide any evidence to support his claims.
The TPLF has been clashing with Ethiopian federal forces for two weeks after the country’s prime minister accused the heavily armed regional government of attacking a military base. Each government regards the other as illegal after a months-long falling-out amid political reforms.
The army chief accused Mr. Tedros, a former Ethiopian foreign minister when the TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, of being a member of the TPLF and asked, “What do you expect of a person like him?”
Is Ethiopia is on the brink of a long ethnic civil war? | The Hindu In Focus podcast
There was no immediate response from WHO headquarters.
"What I can say in response is that I know Tedros, I know him as somebody who is passionately promoting global health, promoting the good health of people and promoting peace,” WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti told reporters during a COVID-19 briefing. “I think this is extent of my knowledge of Tedros as a person.” For more, she referred to his office.
Printable version | Jan 15, 2021 9:23:41 PM | https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/ethiopia-accuses-who-chief-of-backing-defiant-tigray-region/article33133049.ece
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April is Autism Awareness Month. As my regular readers know, I have three boys with autism spectrum disorders, and one daughter without. This makes life interesting, to say the least. Kids on the spectrum like to have everything the same all the time. Alas, life is not always like that. The simplest thing, like changing from winter coats to spring jackets can cause major headaches. I've got one who won't wear long sleeved shirts...ever. He also can't be in the room with an unfinished bowl of cereal (seriously, he will throw up).
When I tell people about my boys they often ask "when do you have time to write?" The answer is "whenever I can steal a few minutes." The other answer is "November."
My oldest has Asperger's Syndrome. The next one down has High-Functioning Autism. Then the youngest son has Mild to Moderate Autism. The easiest way to explain the difference is that we're trying to get the younger boys to talk more and the oldest not to talk as much.
Currently it's our youngest son who is the biggest challenge. He is tall and strong for his age, and has aggression issues. He is improving a bit every day, but needs constant supervision. He's bright, and cheerful and loving. He's also the reason why all flours and other baking ingredients must be locked up (he loves watching things fall). He only goes to school for two hours each day right now. And he has at times run off. In autism this is called "elopement." Of course we families have another term for it, "scary." Like I said, life is interesting.
Our family is really very lucky though. It's hard to remember that some days, but we are. Our boys are smart and affectionate. There is no epilepsy or retardation. There is hope for the future, because they are all making progress. They adore their little sister, and she loves them right back. She will grow up more sensitive to those who are different.
It's a difficult life, but it is also rewarding. We don't go to ball games or zoos. We don't take vacations. The park or a restaurant is still a gamble for us. There is even one family member who won't invite us to her house more than once a year. None of that matters when one of my boys looks up and says "I love you Mom" or hands me a flower he picked for me. It's not the life we expected, but we can still find joy in it even amidst our fears and challenges.
On to the awareness part. If you don't know much about autism, please take this month as an opportunity to learn. It's not just Rain Man (which I have to admit I've never seen). It's not bad parenting, as many, many people still say. It's not one thing either. Each child on the spectrum is different and has different challenges and symptoms. There is speculation that some of the greatest minds in human history were on the spectrum: Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Jane Austen, the list goes on and on. Different can be challenging, but it is not always bad
This is a beautiful post, Kate. I can't imagine how regimented your daily life must be. And I so admire you for approaching it with such strength--above and beyond what you personally need... extra--to get the word out and to help others. Kudos. :-)
Carrie-Anne link
Do you know if there's a Friendship Circle or similar group in your area? It's predominantly a Jewish organization matching special-needs kids with teen volunteers, but I know some of them offer their services to special-needs children of any religion. I know a lot of people in my area who have special-needs kids, including autism, who say the group has done wonders for their children. They do both one-on-one interaction and group events like bowling, art projects, and dancing. They also have meetings for parents from time to time.
I have mild Asperger's, and was finally diagnosed three years ago, after many years of my mother and I suspecting that was the cause of my unexplained social, emotional, and behavioral problems in elementary school. My behavior was a lot worse as a child, before the disorder had a name. It must be a small miracle that I was able to improve so much on my own over the years, without having the kids of special ed and other resources kids today have.
I hadn't heard of Friendship Circle before. I will check into that. There isn't really much of anything in our area. We have Special Olympics but our oldest isn't interested and our youngest boy is too unpredictable to participate. Of course the middle one still might. There may be a Friendship Circle nearby that I don't know of. Thank you for the suggestion, Carrie-Anne!
The younger two boys have moved into post-intensive therapy a few months ago. It's been a good transition for the older of the two, but not for the younger. It's a few hours a week at our home. Down from 20 hours per week during the intensive phase. Wisconsin is a good state to be in for autism. But there is more available in the big cities and we live in the country.
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Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love (2008)
02/01/2009 (US) Documentary 1h 42m
Senegalese pop sensation Youssou Ndour has spent the last 20 years in the spotlight as a world-renowned musician and the iconic representative "voice of Africa." At the height of his career, Youssou became frustrated by the negative perception of his Muslim faith and composed Egypt, a deeply spiritual album dedicated to a more tolerant view of Islam. The album's brave musical message was wholeheartedly embraced by Western audiences but ignited serious religious controversy in his homeland of Senegal. The film chronicles the difficult journey Youssou must undertake to assume his true calling.
Kabou Guèye
Fathi Salama
We don't have any reviews for Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love.
We're so close, yet so far.
Mario_Gaborović
Barbara Ann O'Leary
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Royal Dano as Jamison
William "Billy" Hughes as Aaron
L. Q. Jones as Charley Breen
L. Q. Jones, born Justus Ellis McQueen Jr., is an American film and television actor, as well as a director. He has appeared in more than 150 movies and television shows during a career spanning 50 years. He adopted his stage name from the first role he played in film and was a member of film director Sam Peckinpah's stock company of actors. He directed the sci-fi cult classic "A Boy and His Dog" (1975), starring Don Johnson and Jason Robards. In 2003, he was honored at the Silver Spur Awards.
Jones has had roles in several memorable films, including a minor part in the war drama "The Young Lions" (1958), starring Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Dean Martin; Supply Sgt. Frazer in the war drama "Hell Is for Heroes" (1962), starring Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin and Fess Parker; Loomis in the Ted Post western "Hang 'Em High" (1968), starring Clint Eastwood; Black Harris in the Sam Peckinpah western "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973), starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson; Pat Webb in the Martin Scorsese classic "Casino" (1995), starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci; and Three-Fingered Jack in the action adventure film "The Mask of Zorro" (1998), starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. He guest-starred in many popular television shows, including the family drama "Lassie" (1954–1975), the road adventure "Route 66" (1960–1964), the legal drama "Perry Mason" (1957–1966), the western action adventure series "Kung Fu" (1972–1975) and the police drama "Adam-12" (1968–1975).
Jones made one appearance in THE RIFLEMAN, portraying Charley Breen in "Day of Reckoning" (episode 138). He guest-starred in many other westerns, including "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1955–1961), starring Hugh O'Brian; "Tales of Wells Fargo" (1957–1962), starring Dale Robertson; "Have Gun – Will Travel" (1957–1963), starring Richard Boone; "Wagon Train" (1957–1965), starring John McIntyre and Ward Bond; "Branded" (1965–1966), starring THE RIFLEMAN's Chuck Connors; "Rawhide" (1959–1966), starring Clint Eastwood; "The Big Valley" (1965–1969), starring Barbara Stanwyck; "The Virginian" (1962–1971), starring James Drury; and Gunsmoke" (1955–1975), starring James Arness.
Warren Oates as Will Breen
North Fork is puzzled by Lucas' resentment and harsh words against the new Minister, until he explains that the man is a former outlaw and an ex-convict. Lucas regrets his words, however, when he learns that the man has sincerely reformed and his life is being threatened.
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Ticats
Q&A with Ticats head athletic therapist Carly Vandergrient
By Drew EdwardsContributing Columnist
For Carly Vandergrient, there are no off days during the Hamilton Tiger-Cats season.
As head athletic therapist, she is the first responder and chief caretaker of the players' health needs, responsible for everything from pre-season medicals, to day-to-day treatments — both preventive and injury related — to bracing and taping for practice and games. In the latest in a series of conversations with Ticats beat reporter Drew Edwards, Vandergrient talks about what a day in the life looks like, the challenges of her job, her unique position in professional sports.
DE: What's your average day look like?
CV: On practice days, I get to the stadium at 6:30 a.m. and get set up and then treatment and taping starts at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. We set up the field, have some breakfast, then resume taping from 10:30 a.m. until practice starts at 11. Then we're on the field for practice, then back to treatment until 4:30 p.m. or so then we do the charting and paperwork. Then there's prep for the next day.
On game day I go the stadium five hours before kickoff to get set up because some guys like to get there early to get ready. Some guys have pretty elaborate tape jobs and certain players like to have their taping done by certain people: Peter Dyakowski won't let anyone else tape him but me, for whatever reason. I think he knows I have to be there every single day so it's always the same.
DE: How did you get into this?
CV: I was active as a kid, played four different sports in high school and came to Mac for kinesiology and to play varsity volleyball. I had shoulder surgery my first year and got involved as sports medicine intern during my rehab. I worked with the various sports teams at Mac while I was doing my degree and then got a job in the rehab clinic after graduation. I thought there was more to learn so took an athletic therapy degree at Sheridan and got a scholarship that involved working with the Ticats. That opportunity led to where I am now.
DE: You were young when you got the head job.
CV: I was 26 and it was a little overwhelming. But Chris Puskas, who was leaving the job to take over at Mac and the team doctor David Levy — who is like family to me — were so supportive. My first year, I was probably getting three or four hours of sleep a night just trying to keep up with the things I needed to know. But I felt if I turned it down, especially as a young age and as a woman in pro sports, the opportunity may never present itself again. Either you figure it out, fail trying or don't take it and have regrets down the road. And I'm not a shoulda-coulda-woulda kind of person.
DE: What's the toughest part of the job?
CV: It's a bit of an art form trying to deliver bad news to people each and every day — I'm not the bearer of good news much of the time. At the same time, it's rewarding to help those people get back to health, to see an injury from the second it happens until a player returns to play. But it's not easy telling coaches that a player is out or telling a player that they miss a chunk of time.
DE: When you're dealing with a player that's just been hurt, that has to be a difficult moment.
CV: As people, we commit so much of our lives to helping these guys. I'm an empathetic person and I genuinely care for the players' well-being, whether that's keeping them healthy or getting them back to health. You couldn't do this job if you didn't feel that way so when you see a player that works so hard, knowing how much they sacrifice — when that gets taken away by injury, you have to sympathize with them. Hopefully that makes it a little easier on them in some way.
DE: As far as I can tell, you are the only head athletic therapist in professional sports who is a woman. Does that mean anything to you?
CV: I've always worked with other women while with the Ticats so it never seemed particularly unique, and more and more players have experience with athletic therapists who are woman: nobody's ever been shocked that I have this job. It's not something I think about and it certainly doesn't change the way I do my job.
DE: Has there every been a moment of uncomfortableness for either a player or yourself?
CV: I've never had a player be rude or disrespectful. If you treat a player with professionalism and respect right from the get-go, they have no choice but to treat you with respect. A good therapist is a good therapist and that's all players care about.
Notes: Ticats receiver Bakari Grant missed practice for a third straight day on Wednesday and is unlikely to play Friday versus Edmonton. Running back Anthony Woodson, defensive back Donald Washington and defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon are also out. Safety Craig Butler is expected to miss a third straight game with a lower body injury.
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What To Hold: 3 Hold-Rated Dividend Stocks TCAP, WHF, AB
These 3 dividend stocks are rated a Hold by TheStreet
TheStreet Ratings' stock model projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period including both price appreciation and dividends. Our Buy, Hold or Sell ratings designate how we expect these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates.
While plenty of high-yield opportunities exist, investors must always consider the safety of their dividend and the total return potential of their investment. It is not uncommon for a struggling company to suspend high-yielding dividends which could subsequently result in precipitous share price declines.
TheStreet Ratings' stock rating model views dividends favorably, but not so much that other factors are disregarded. Our model gauges the relationship between risk and reward in several ways, including: the pricing drawdown as compared to potential profit volatility, i.e. how much one is willing to risk in order to earn profits?; the level of acceptable volatility for highly performing stocks; the current valuation as compared to projected earnings growth; and the financial strength of the underlying company as compared to its stock's valuation as compared to its stock's performance.
These and many more derived observations are then combined, ranked, weighted, and scenario-tested to create a more complete analysis. The result is a systematic and disciplined method of selecting stocks. As always, stock ratings should not be treated as gospel — rather, use them as a starting point for your own research.
The following pages contain our analysis of 3 stocks with substantial yields, that ultimately, we have rated "Hold."
Triangle Capital
Dividend Yield: 10.50%
) shares currently have a dividend yield of 10.50%.
Triangle Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in private equity and mezzanine investments. The company has a P/E ratio of 10.23.
The average volume for Triangle Capital has been 143,800 shares per day over the past 30 days. Triangle Capital has a market cap of $689.8 million and is part of the financial services industry. Shares are up 5.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.
. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the stock has had a generally disappointing performance in the past year.
TCAP's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 1.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.9%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
TRIANGLE CAPITAL CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. This trend suggests that the performance of the business is improving. During the past fiscal year, TRIANGLE CAPITAL CORP increased its bottom line by earning $1.44 versus $1.04 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.11 versus $1.44).
Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 118.40% to $7.19 million when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow, TRIANGLE CAPITAL CORP's cash flow growth rate is still lower than the industry average growth rate of 149.14%.
The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. When compared to other companies in the Capital Markets industry and the overall market, TRIANGLE CAPITAL CORP's return on equity is below that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
TCAP has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 14.08% from its price level of one year ago. Turning toward the future, the fact that the stock has come down in price over the past year should not necessarily be interpreted as a negative; it could be one of the factors that may help make the stock attractive down the road. Right now, however, we believe that it is too soon to buy.
You can view the full Triangle Capital Ratings Report.
WHF
Whitehorse Finance, LLC is a business development company. The company has a P/E ratio of 6.97.
The average volume for WhiteHorse Finance has been 34,900 shares per day over the past 30 days. WhiteHorse Finance has a market cap of $188.9 million and is part of the financial services industry. Shares are down 9.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.
. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.
The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 1.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 8.4%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
The gross profit margin for WHITEHORSE FINANCE INC is currently very high, coming in at 73.88%. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of -123.82% is in-line with the industry average.
WHITEHORSE FINANCE INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has reported a trend of declining earnings per share over the past two years. However, the consensus estimate suggests that this trend should reverse in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, WHITEHORSE FINANCE INC swung to a loss, reporting -$0.18 versus $1.32 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.42 versus -$0.18).
The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Capital Markets industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 511.2% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $3.59 million to -$14.78 million.
Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Capital Markets industry and the overall market, WHITEHORSE FINANCE INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
You can view the full WhiteHorse Finance Ratings Report.
) shares currently have a dividend yield of 8.80%.
AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is publicly owned investment manager. The firm also provides research services to its clients. The company has a P/E ratio of 10.66.
The average volume for AllianceBernstein has been 297,300 shares per day over the past 30 days. AllianceBernstein has a market cap of $2.3 billion and is part of the financial services industry. Shares are down 6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.
. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including weak operating cash flow, a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in the company's earnings per share.
The gross profit margin for ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP is currently very high, coming in at 100.00%. AB has managed to maintain the strong profit margin since the same quarter of last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, AB's net profit margin of 89.90% significantly outperformed against the industry.
The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Capital Markets industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.
AB, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 1.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 9.6%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
Looking at the price performance of AB's shares over the past 12 months, there is not much good news to report: the stock is down 25.92%, and it has underformed the S&P 500 Index. In addition, the company's earnings per share are lower today than the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.
Net operating cash flow has declined marginally to $43.00 million or 0.55% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.
You can view the full AllianceBernstein Ratings Report.
Other helpful dividend tools from TheStreet:
Our top-yielding stocks list.
Our dividend calendar.
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Dykstra: Going Into Extra Innings
Some wins take longer than others, but they're still sweet.
Editor's note: Lenny Dykstra will explain his deep-in-the-money call options at TheStreet.com Investment Conference on Saturday, Oct. 25. Limited seating. Act now.
Sometimes baseball games can be a real dogfight that continues late into the night and into extra innings. Those games were always fun for me. I loved the added intensity, but for some it made them nervous. You could tell which players were trying to do too much, or those who got eaten up by the pressure. But at the end of the night, when your team is celebrating around home, it is particularly special. Getting those extra-inning wins helps bring a team together.
When I was with the New York Mets in the 1986, we faced a tough pitcher in Mike Scott during the NLCS. Scott won the Cy Young Award that year and also had thrown a no-hitter to clinch the Western Division for the Houston Astros. Talk about adversity. He had already won two games and, with the series knotted at two, we didn't want to see Scott again in a possible Game 7. We would play all night if it meant avoiding Scott later in the series.
We went on to win games 5 and 6 in a combined 28 innings. That's basically three games fit into two. The pennant-clinching win in Game 6 alone was 16 innings long. It was a huge moment for our team.
The simple fact is that some wins take longer than others. But a win is still a win. With my options plays, I like getting quick wins, but sometimes getting the "W" takes patience and the strength to believe in the decision. (You can learn my system in my Nails on the Numbers newsletter.
Click here for a free trial.
The past six months have shown us the market's fickleness. There have been highs over 13,000 and lows under 8,000. It has been a confusing and tough time for many, but my picks have still been successful over that time frame.
My average win takes just about three weeks, but some picks have stayed in play a pretty long time. My
pick was open for an eye-popping 164 days, but it eventually netted me $4,600. A nice payday like that was worth the wait.
Another example is
(SYY) - Get Report
, which hung around for 95 days before it crossed the finish line for $2,100.
(TSO)
was also on the board for a while. It lasted 85 days before I was able to ring the register to the tune of $7,100.
What I am saying is that all wins are not created equal. Sometimes you take a pick to the bank in just a few hours. Others really test your allegiance to the system as well as your patience. As you can see, I am 78-0 with more than $200,000 in wins on the year and my picks that went to extras so far have been worth the wait.
Here are some of the others that took a while to bring home the bacon.
Dow Chemical (DOW) - Get Report was in play 83 days before I was able to cash in for a $6,700 profit.
General Electric (GE) - Get Report hung around for 81 days before I won $4,800.
Forest Labs (FRX) stayed open 78 days, but brought home a $3,200 win.
After 72 days, Wachovia (WB) - Get Report won me a huge payout of $13,200.
Eli Lilly (LLY) - Get Report brought home the prize after 65 days for $4,200.
Citigroup (C) - Get Report stayed in play 64 days and won to the tune of $7,250.
Morgan Stanley (MS) - Get Report also lasted 64 days and drove in a $13,800 win.
Always remember: Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!
At the time of publication, Dykstra had no positions in stocks mentioned.
Nicknamed 'Nails' for his tough style of play, Lenny is a former Major League Baseball player for the 1986 World Champions, New York Mets and the 1993 National League Champions, Philadelphia Phillies. A three time All-Star as a ballplayer, Lenny now serves as president for several privately held businesses in Southern California. He is the founder of The Players Club; it has been his desire to give back to the sport that gave him early successes in life by teaching athletes how to invest and protect their incomes. He currently manages his own portfolio and writes an investment strategy column for TheStreet.com, and is featured regularly on CNBC and other cable news shows. Lenny was selected as OverTime Magazine's 2006-2007 "Entrepreneur of the Year."
StocksOpinionInvesting
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American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy
The air travel giant announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
DETROIT (TheStreet) -- American Airlines and its parent company (Stock Quote: AMR) have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and CEO Gerard Arpey has retired.
The filing comes after the world's third-largest carrier reached a point when it seems unable, after five years of talks, to reach a contract deal with its pilots union.
(AMR) Tom Horton, who had been president, has been named chairman and CEO.
(AMR) American said it would operate normally, honoring all tickets and reservations. The carrier has $4.1 billion in cash to pay its bills during bankruptcy.
(AMR) -- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
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EU Membership (Effect on Jobs)
Oral Answers to Questions — Wales – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 26th March 2014.
All Commons debates on 26 Mar 2014
Albert Owen Labour, Ynys Môn 11:30 am, 26th March 2014
What estimate he has made of the number of jobs in Wales that depend on the UK’s membership of the EU.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 26 March 2014, c334)
Stephen Crabb The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Government Whip
Businesses in Wales and across the UK are not satisfied with the current relationship with the EU, and want reform and renegotiation. That is what our Prime Minister is committed to achieving to boost our growth and competitiveness, and to secure new jobs.
Albert Owen Labour, Ynys Môn
I am surprised that the Minister did not mention the number of jobs that are dependent on the EU. He will know that the business community wants both stability and certainty, and they want to see Wales at the heart of the United Kingdom and the European Union. Does he therefore agree with the CBI, which says that Labour’s policy of reforming from within is good for jobs in Wales and the United Kingdom?
I am surprised by the hon. Gentleman’s question, because he should know that 77% of all British businesses support the position that this Government are taking on reform and renegotiation. That position is supported by the CBI, the Institute of Directors and the British Chambers of Commerce. There is widespread support within the business community for reforming our relationship with Europe to become more competitive, and to secure new investment and jobs.
Mark Williams Liberal Democrat, Ceredigion
The Government’s position is not, however, supported by the Farmers Union of Wales. Given that €400 million are pumped into the rural Welsh economy, convergence funding for west Wales and the valleys has had a huge impact. Will my hon. Friend be cheering on Nick or Nigel in this evening’s debate?
The hon. Gentleman will forgive me if I say that I will be cheering on neither Nick nor Nigel in this evening’s debate. I hear what he is saying. I, too, speak to a lot of farmers in west Wales and they tell me that they do not want to be seen as just reliant on handouts from the European Union. They want to be regarded as business men and women in their own right, so they support our position to reform the European Union and to become more competitive.
Geraint Davies Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Substitute Member)
The Minister should be aware that 150,000 jobs in Wales and 25,000 jobs in the Swansea bay city region depend on trade with Europe. Does he accept that firms such as Unilever, Nissan and others are saying that even talk of a referendum is undermining investment and jobs in Wales today, and that if we do in fact end up outside Europe following a referendum, they will withdraw jobs and investment from Wales and Britain? Will he therefore oppose such a referendum?
The hon. Gentleman’s position is not correct and is not supported by the facts on the ground. He should not scaremonger and use old figures to suggest that businesses are scared to talk about reform and renegotiation. Investment is coming into the United Kingdom and into Wales. The prospects for the Welsh economy are very positive indeed.
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Clintonville: Suspect can't resist siren call of bygone Burger King
Columbus police officers were dispatched to a vacant building on the 3300 block of Indianola Avenue at 4:05 p.m. July 9 on a report of someone removing screws from the building's boarded-up exterior.
The officers located the suspect, who admitted to removing the screws with a knife due to curiosity about the inside of the building, a former Burger King restaurant, according to reports.
The suspect was released to a guardian, reports said.
* A woman who lives on the 100 block of West Tulane Road told police someone stole a shotgun worth $700 from her apartment between 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. July 8.
The victim said she suspects one of the three people who were helping her move out of the apartment.
* A woman reported she was riding in a car with a man at 12:30 p.m. July 9 on the 2600 block of North High Street when an argument began.
The victim said she began to exit the car, but the man punched her, causing a cut above her eyebrow.
The victim called police from a nearby business, but the assailant could not be found, reports said.
The woman was taken to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital for treatment.
* A representative of an organization on the 4000 block of Roselea Place reported at 2:47 p.m. July 10 that someone had been calling and leaving "unwanted telephone messages."
* A resident of the 3000 block of Neil Avenue told police several items were stolen from her apartment around midnight July 2.
Stolen items include $50 worth of clothing, a golf club worth $100, a $50 bike pump, $50 in tools and a pin valued at $100.
The victim said there was no forced entry and she was not sure how someone entered the apartment.
She said she suspects a neighbor of the crime but has no proof, according to reports.
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James Carras bio
Assistant: Veronica Chapman
James Carras is Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy. For over twenty-five years, as Principal of Carras Community Investment, Inc., he has concentrated on designing and implementing responses and solutions for community and economic development opportunities. Mr. Carras is recognized nationally for the creation and expansion of over fifty development financial institutions and community investment initiatives. He has served as the Founding Executive Director of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, the Founding President of the Broward Housing Partnership and the South Florida Community Land Trust. Prior to establishing his consulting business, he served as a Community Development Advisor to the Mayor of Boston and was the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Urban Reinvestment Advisory Group where he was awarded the John Hay Whitney Fellowship.
Mr. Carras was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Sociology from Suffolk University in Boston, completed graduate work at Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and received a Master’s Degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Public Administration. He is certified by the National Development Council (NDC) as an Economic Development Finance Professional.
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Tollette Arkansas Area Home Supply Charts
This page looks at a variety of Tollette Arkansas housing market data taken from the most recent 2020 American Community Survey census data. Housing units are structures such as a single family home, apartment community, mobile home park, public housing, etc. where a person or family live and live separately from other residents of the building. Figure 1 shows the total number of housing units for each city. Tollette shows it has a Housing Units of 165 which is in the mid point range of other places in the greater region.
Figure 2 illustrates the housing density in the Tollette housing market as measured by housing units per square land mile (includes single family homes, apartments, etc.) Tollette depicts it has a Housing Density of 173.9 which is the third most housing densities of all other places in the greater Tollette region. The city with the highest housing density in the area is Nashville which indicates a density of 363.8 (about twice as large). Comparing housing density to the United States average of 38.9, Tollette is approximately 4.5 times bigger. Also, measured against the state of Arkansas, housing density of 26.3, Tollette is very much bigger.
In Figure 4, Tollette area change in the number of housing units and is a forward gauge (along with population change) for any potential housing shortage. Tollette depicts it has a Housing Unit Change of 21.3% which is more than all other places in the greater Tollette region. Comparing change in the housing units to the United States average of 5.7%, Tollette is approximately 3.8 times bigger. Also, compared to the state of Arkansas, change in the housing units of 4.1%, Tollette is appreciably bigger.
Figure 5 shows the percentage of rental property based on that they are occupied by renters as a percent of the total number of households in the community (including homes, apartments, etc.) Tollette depicts it has a Renter Percent of 13.9% which is the second smallest when ranked by renter percent of all the other places in the surrounding region. Figure 6 illustrates the total number of housing units that are occupied by owners. it has a Owner Percent of 86.1% which is the second most of all the places in the greater region.
Tollette Arkansas Home Cost Charts
Looking at the housing data provided in Figure 7, the average Tollette home price is illustrated for this community and a useful analysis of affordable housing. Tollette depicts it has a Median Home Value of $69,300 which is the third most of all other places in the local area. The city with the highest median home price in the area is Nashville which shows a home price of $89,500 (29.1% larger). Figure 8 provides aggregate comparative data for the Tollette Arkansas metro area in terms of the median housing rental rate, apartment rent, etc. Tollette shows it has a Median Gross Rent of $950 which is more than all other places in the area. Comparing rental rates to the United States average of $1,062, Tollette is about 11.8% smaller. Also, compared with the state of Arkansas, rental rates of $745, Tollette is 27.5% larger.
Figure 9 provides the frequency distribution of home prices for the area and is useful for understanding affordable housing fund. Tollette has the percentage of home price worth less than $50,000 less than most other places in the area at 37% of the total. Second, it has the largest proportion of home price worth between $200,000 to $300,000 at 1% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of home price worth between $300,000 to $400,000 at 3% of the total and is ranked #1.
Median owner costs for the real estate market are shown in Figure 10 and include the costs associated with any mortgage, utility expenses, insurance, and other miscellaneous costs. Tollette shows it has a Median Owner Cost of $384 which is in the middle range of other places in the local area. Figure 11 shows the median amount of cost as a percent of total household income for people who own homes in the Tollette metro area. it has a Owner Cost as % of HH Income of 14% which is the third most cost as a percent of household income of all other places in the greater Tollette region. The next chart, Figure 12, provides a comparison chart of the median home cost as a percent of a median worker take home earnings and is thus a valuable measure of affordable housing. Tollette depicts it has a Median Home Value as Percent of Median Earnings of 255% which is the third most median home value as a percent of median worker earnings of all other places in the greater Tollette region.
Figure 14 depicts the median cost of housing for owners with also have a mortgages (versus those who do not have a mortgage because mortgage cost is included.) Tollette shows it has a Median Owner Costs-With Mortgage of $872 which is the second most median housing cost of all the places in the greater Tollette region. Figure 15 is a chart that shows the median housing costs for owners who do not have mortgages (and therefore the cost of home ownership does not include mortgage cost.) it has a Median Owner Costs-Without Mortgage of $295 which is less than most other places in the greater region.
Figure 16 shows the distribution in total housing cost for owners of property (so not renters.) This cost includes mortgages, lines of credit interest, utilities, taxes, insurance, etc. Tollette has the percentage of owner cost less than $300 in the mid point range of other places in the local area at 34% of the total. Second, it has less than most other places in the metro area as measured by owner cost between $300 and $500 at 8% of the total. Third, it has one of the largest proportions of owner cost between $500 and $700 at 26% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Ozan with 33%. Also, it has the largest proportion of owner cost between $1,500 and $2,000 at 4% of the total and is ranked #1.
Next shown in Figure 17 is the housing cost as a percent of household income for people who own their homes and have a mortgages (thus the cost of financing the home is included.) Tollette shows it has a % of Income Owner Costs-With Mortgage of 31% which is the largest of all places in the greater Tollette region. Housing cost as a percent of household income for owners who do not have a mortgage is shown in Figure 18. This analysis can be useful for understanding the affordable housing for home ownership excluding any financing cost in the area shown. Tollette shows it has a % of Income Owner Costs-No Mortgage of 12% which is the third most of all other places in the local area. The city with the highest cost as a percent of household income in the area is Ben Lomond which depicts a cost as a percent of household income of 13% (13.7% larger).
Figure 19 looks at the cost of rent for rental property using the percent of total household income which is a valuable measure of financial health for the area. (The higher the proportion of rent payments to total household income is a sign of greater financial stress. Also, rent can be covered by rent assistance and rent assistance programs in the form of rent assistance.) Tollette has one of the largest proportions of rent as a percent of income is less than 10 pct at 47% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Ozan with 83%.
Figure 20 shows the total housing cost for both home owners and apartment community renters in the area. Tollette has the largest proportion of housing cost between $1,500 and $2,000 at 4% of the total and is ranked #1.
Figure 21 shows median amount of real estate taxes paid for home owners in the region. it has a Median Real Estate Taxes Paid of $309 which is less than most other places in the greater region. The city with the highest median real estate taxes paid in the area is Nashville which depicts a taxes paid of $606 (about twice as large). Comparing median real estate taxes paid to the United States average of $2,471, Tollette is approximately an eigth the size. Also, compared with the state of Arkansas, median real estate taxes paid of $798, Tollette is approximately a third the size.
Figure 23 shows the rental rate distribution for this area. Tollette Arkansas has one of the largest proportions of rent between 500 and 750 dollars at 33% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Ozan with 83%. Second, it has the largest proportion of rent between 750 and 1000 dollars at 20% of the total and is ranked #1.
Tollette Arkansas Home Financing Charts
The analysis in Figure 25 shows the detailed distribution of owned homes by mortgage status. Tollette has the largest proportion of with mortgage at 4% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the largest proportion of 2nd mortgage or heloc-not both at 4% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has less than most other places in the area in order of both 2nd mortgage and heloc at 29% of the total.
Tollette Arkansas Home Characteristics Charts
Figure 28 shows the household size for families living in the area and it has a Family size of 2.9 which is in the middle range of other places in the local area. The city with the highest family members per housing unit in the area is Ben Lomond which shows a family members per housing unit of 5.1 (77.1% larger). Comparing family members per housing unit to the United States average of 3.3, Tollette is about 15.0% smaller. Also, compared to the state of Arkansas, family members per housing unit of 3.2, Tollette is about 10.0% smaller.
Figure 29 show the median number of rooms in a typical home for each location in this area. it has a Median Number of Rooms of 5.8 which is the second most average number of rooms in a house of all the places in the greater Tollette region. The city with the highest average number of rooms in a house in the area is Ozan which depicts an average number of rooms in a house of 6.0 (only about 3.4% larger). Figure 30 shows, for the average house in each location, the median year that a house was built. This can be useful for understanding the relative age of one neighborhood versus another for a real estate investor. it has a Median Year Built of 1986 which is at the top of all other places in the local area.
Figure 31 looks at the distribution of housing units by the median age that the homes were built. it has one of the largest proportions of homes built between 2010 to 2013 at 12% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Mineral Springs with 12%. Second, it has the largest proportion of homes built between 2000 to 2009 at 25% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of homes built between 1990 to 1999 at 24% of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has the second smallest when ranked by homes built in 2014 or later of all the other places in the greater region when ranked by homes built between 1970 to 1979 at 4% of the total. In addition, it has the second smallest as measured by homes built in 2014 or later of all the other places in the surrounding region in terms of homes built between 1940 to 1949 at 2% of the total.
Figure 32 shows the difference in the number of housing units based on whether they are occupied by owners versus occupied by renters. has the percentage of owner housing units in the center range of other places in the greater region at 15 of the total.
Figure 34 shows the median value of homes broken down by the median year that the homes were built. has the percentage of value of homes built 1990 to 1999 in the mid point range of other places in the area at $50,000 of the total. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of value of homes built 1980 to 1989 at $83,300 of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Mineral Springs ($83,500), and #1 Nashville ($89,300) are larger.
The next two charts show both the average household size of homeowners versus the average household size of renters. Starting with Figure 36 we see the household size of homeowners for Tollette residents. it has a Owner-Household Size of 2.1 which is less than most other places in the local area. The city with the highest homeowner household size in the area is Ben Lomond which depicts a homeowner household size of 3.3 (56.7% larger).
Figure 37 shows the household size for renters. Tollette shows it has a Renter-Household Size of 3.4 which is the largest of all places in the greater Tollette region. Figure 38 shows the year that people who own homes moved into this region. has the percentage of owners moved in 2015 to 2016 the second smallest when ranked by owners moved in 2017 or later of all the other places in the greater region at 5% of the total. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of owners moved in 2000 to 2009 at 22% of the total and is ranked #3. Only #2 Yarborough Landing CDP (28%), and #1 Ozan (31%) are larger. Third, it has the largest proportion of owners moved in 1990 to 1999 at 42% of the total and is ranked #1. Figure 39 shows the year that people who rent moved into the area. Tollette has the percentage of renters moved in 2017 or later in the middle range of other places in the local area at 22% of the total. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of renters moved in 2015 to 2016 at 69% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger city being Ben Lomond with 70%. Third, it has the largest proportion of renters moved in 2000 to 2009 at 8% of the total and is ranked #1.
Figure 40 compares the median year that home owners moved into their home. it has a Owner Median Year Moved In of 1990 which is the smallest when sorted by median year that a home owner moved in of all the other places in the metro area. Figure 41 compares the median year that renters moved into their home. Tollette depicts it has a Renter Median Year Moved In of 2013 which is the second most median year that a renter moved in of all the places in the greater Tollette region.
Figure 42 shows the frequency distribution of various types of energy sources used for homes in the community. has the smallest proportion of home using bottled, tank, or lp gas at 33% of the total.
Tollette, Arkansas Housing Data
Figure 1: Tollette, AR Area Total Housing Units
Figure 2: Tollette, AR Housing Density (Houses per Sq. Mile)
Figure 5: Rental Homes in Tollette, AR
Figure 6: Owned Homes in Tollette, AR
Figure 7: Tollette, AR Median Home Prices
Figure 8: Tollette, AR Median Monthly Rent Amounts
Figure 9: Tollette, AR Home Price Distribution
Figure 10: Tollette, AR Median Monthly Owner Cost
Figure 14: Tollette, AR Median Monthly Owner Cost with Mortgage
Figure 15: Tollette, AR Median Monthly Owner Cost without Mortgage
Figure 16: Distribution of Monthly Owner Costs in Tollette, AR
Figure 19: Tollette, AR Rent as a percent of Household Income
Figure 20: Monthly Housing Cost for Owners or Renters in Tollette, AR
Figure 21: Tollette, AR Median Annual Real Estate Taxes Paid
Figure 22: Tollette, AR Utilities Included with amenities or Excluded in Rent
Figure 23: Tollette, AR Monthly Median Rent Rates
Figure 24: Tollette, AR Monthly Median Rent Rates by Size of Rental in Bedrooms
Figure 25: Tollette, AR Detailed Mortgage Status
Figure 26: Tollette, AR Houses With vs. Without a Mortgage
Figure 27: Average Household Size in Tollette, AR
Figure 28: Average Family Size in Tollette, AR
Figure 30: Tollette, AR Median Year House Built
Figure 31: Tollette, AR Year that House Built Distribution
Figure 32: Number of Owners vs. Renters in Tollette, AR and Area
Figure 33: Tollette, AR Area Housing Types
Figure 34: Tollette, AR Median Home Value By Year Structure Built
Figure 35: Occupied and Vacant Housing units in Tollette, AR
Figure 37: Tollette, AR Renter Household Size
Figure 42: Tollette, AR Fuel Used to Heat Home
Figure 44: Tollette, AR Population in Group Quarters
Near Tollette, AR
Select a City-PlaceNashvilleAshdownMineral SpringsYarborough Landing CDPWiltonTolletteWashingtonBen LomondMcCaskillFultonOzan
Select a CountyBowie CountyMiller CountyClark CountyHempstead CountyPolk CountySevier CountyHoward CountyLittle River CountyPike CountyNevada CountyLafayette County
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TMHA Helps Raise Funds for SOS Charity
TMHA Helps Raise Funds for Save Our Charity
Australia's leading material handling equipment supplier is once again backing a bid to raise research funding for a baffling muscle disease.
Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) is a major sponsor of Save Our Sons, a charitable organisation seeking to raise public awareness of and research funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
The Save Our Sons charity is seeking to fund a human clinical trial with the aim of finding a cure for the disease, which only affects boys.
The highlight of this year's fundraising program is the Save Our Sons Play for a Cure - Casino Royale poker tournament at Sydney's Australian Technology Park on Saturday May 11, hosted by World Poker Champion Joe Hachem.
First prize includes flights to a seat in the World Series of Poker Tournament in Las Vegas and $3000 towards air fares and accommodation.
TMHA executive vice president and COO Steve Takacs said the company was honoured to be part of the Save Our Sons campaign to find a cure for DMD.
"DMD is a terrible disease, with children battling against the clock to stay self-sufficient without the need for a wheelchair and, ultimately, to survive," he said.
Save Our Sons was founded by Sydney train driver Eli Eid and his best mate, contract painter Bass Abboud, after Eid's son was diagnosed with DMD.
Save Our Sons seeks to raise public awareness and much-needed funding for research on the disease.
"We started in February 2008, just the two of us, because I wanted to help a mate who was doing it tough - with his son likely to die before the age of 20," Save Our Sons vice president Bass Abboud said.
DMD is a form of muscular dystrophy characterised by aggressive muscle degeneration, leading to the inability to walk and eventually death due to heart and lung failure.
This disease only affects boys, with symptoms presenting themselves before the age of five.
DMD affects one in every 3500 boys, making it the most prevalent of muscular dystrophies.
Although only males are afflicted, females can be carriers. The disorder is caused by a mutation in the Dystrophin gene.
TMHA is a proud supporter of the Save our Sons Charity
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Coronavirus - Updated advice for parents/carers
Updated guidance for parents and carers
We have updated our guidance for parents and carers on what they need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This update provides information on school admission appeals, entry tests for selective schools, and exams and assessments in the autumn term.
We have also provided further information on the use of face coverings in schools and links to online resources that are available to help parents, carers and children with their mental health and wellbeing.
Updated guidance on the use of face coverings in education
On 21 August, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated their advice on when children over the age of 12 should wear face coverings. The WHO now advise that “children aged 12 and over should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults, in particular when they cannot guarantee at least a 1-metre distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area”.
As a result, the government has revised the guidance on face coverings for staff and children in Year 7 or above in England. From 1 September new advice will apply to the use of face coverings by staff and pupils in school years 7 or above and learners in further education in England.
In areas of local intervention, face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils in secondary schools and colleges when moving around, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
Nationwide, schools and colleges will have the discretion to require face coverings in communal areas where social distancing cannot be safely managed, if they believe that is right in their particular circumstances.
Summary guidance on appeals for GCSE, AS and A level grade in summer 2020
Ofqual has published guidance on appeals, malpractice and maladministration complaints for students who received their GCSE, AS and A level grades in England in summer 2020, summarising the information they have previously published and including contact details for additional help and support.
Exam Results Helpline available until 28 August
The Exam Results Helpline, delivered by the National Careers Service, will be available until 28 August to provide additional support to students and their parents as they receive their results. Callers to the helpline will have direct access to experienced careers advisers who can advise on the different options available to them including T levels, A levels, GCSEs, BTECs, apprenticeships and other vocational options. Support will also be available on topics such as clearing, university, gap years and the autumn exam series.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 8am to 10pm
Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline by calling:
Monday 31 August (Bank Holiday) from 10am to 4pm.
A and AS level and GCSE students to receive centre assessment grades
It has been announced that A and AS level students will be reissued their centre assessment grades. GCSE students will also receive their centre assessment grades on Thursday. Anyone who received a calculated grade higher than their centre assessment grade will not see their grade reduced.
The Secretary of State for Education said:
‘This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams. We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process.’
‘We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A and AS level and GCSE results. I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve.’
Further information can be found in the students to receive centre assessment grades announcement.
Launch of the #backtoschoolsafely campaign
We have launched our #backtoschoolsafely campaign to reassure parents and students that schools and colleges are ready for their return in September.
This is part of the Government’s wider Stay Alert campaign. You will see newspaper and billboard advertising from today, with radio and digital adverts from Monday 24 August, which will run until early September, alongside wider engagement with the teaching profession and local communities.
The latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics show there is growing confidence among parents that their children will return to school in September, testament to the hard work of school staff.
Parents are encouraged to visit gov.uk/backtoschool for information and practical guidance to help them plan for their children’s return to school.
Barnardo’s ‘See Hear Respond’ service
See Hear Respond is a service provided across England by Barnardo’s and other national and local community-based organisations in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The programme has been created to help children and young people in England who are experiencing harm and increased adversity during this period by providing support to those who are not being seen by social care or other key agencies.
Working with its partners, Barnardo’s aims to reduce the likelihood of harm and ensure other support and protective networks are in place.
See Hear Respond accept referrals from any source either through the Freephone number 0800 151 7015 or via the online referral hub.
Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline – change to opening hours
The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care.
Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline by calling 0800 046 8687.
From Monday 27 July, the helpline will be closed on weekends. We will continue to be available to answer your calls Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
Today, the Government has confirmed that the school fruit and vegetable scheme, which was paused during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, will resume as normal in autumn when all children return to school. This scheme provides daily fresh produce for pupils in key stage 1 and helps every child have a healthy, happy start to life.
10 top tips to encourage children to read in support of Reading Together Day
To support the very first Reading Together Day, we have published tips for parents and carers of primary-aged children to help them encourage and support their children to read. They contain ideas on how to plan reading opportunities at home and make reading enjoyable and engaging, including during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
See Hear Respond accept referrals from any source either through the Freephone number 0800 151 7015 and via the online referral hub.
Additional funding for free meals in further education
Due to the unprecedented nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we are providing additional funding to enable further education funded institutions to continue to provide meals over the 2020 summer holiday to students eligible for free meals in further education in the 2019/20 academic year.
Institutions should continue to provide meals using their existing arrangements over the summer for students who were eligible and claiming for free meals in further education during the summer term. Institutions need to confirm arrangements and support with eligible students before the end of the summer term.
Further information on this funding can be found in the guidance on free meals in further education funded institutions in 2019/20.
Guidance on taking exams during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated the guidance on taking exams during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include more information on the GCSE, AS and A level autumn exam series and a new section on the arrangements and timing of summer 2021 exams.
Guidance on the protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated the protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings guidance with more information on group sizes and the considerations that need to be made, and the opening of indoor sports facilities from 25 July, including indoor gyms, sports courts and fitness and dance studios.
If your school or college operates outdoors, you should also refer to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s guidance for the public on the phased return of outdoor sport and recreation in England.
Free school meals over the summer period for pupils leaving their current education setting
The Covid Summer Food Fund will enable children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to be supported over the summer holiday period. This includes providing support where needed for year 6, year 11 and year 13 pupils who were confirmed as eligible and claiming benefits-related free school meals during the summer term, regardless of whether they remain registered with the school.
Where applicable, the school that the pupil is leaving is responsible for ordering the pupil’s free school meals for the Covid Summer Food Fund at least one week before the end of the school term.
Please read all emails from Edenred to ensure that your orders have been processed correctly.
Recording of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to school leavers
Today, 43,000 people joined the Prime Minister’s live address to all school leavers congratulating them on reaching the end of their final year at school. A recording of the address is now available to view on Facebook and YouTube.
Investment in traineeships and apprenticeships for young people announced
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that businesses will receive a cash payment for every apprentice they hire, with a payment of £2,000 per apprentice under the age of 25, and a payment of £1,500 for apprentices aged 25 and over. These payments are in addition to, where appropriate, the existing £1,000 payment made to employers who employ a 16 to 18 year old apprentice or an apprentice aged under 24 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Businesses offering new traineeships in England will also receive a £1,000 bonus per new trainee, with triple the number of places available.
Over £100 million is also to be invested in providing more places on level 2 and 3 courses to help 18 to 19 year olds leaving school or college to find work.
Working with its partners, Barnardo’s aims to reduce the likelihood of harm and ensure other support and protective networks are in place using:
online digital support, including advice and information, online counselling and a telephone helpline
face to face interventions, such as support for groups at risk outside the home and one to one support
reintegration into education, including assessments and the delivery of support pathways back to education
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing eligibility and how to book
Testing is available to anyone in England and Wales who has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), whatever their age. Tests are free and can be requested through the NHS website.
Priority testing is available for essential workers and anyone they live with who display symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), this includes all education and childcare staff. Priority testing can be arranged through the self-referral portal on GOV.UK. Apply for a coronavirus test if you’re an essential worker.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address all school leavers
On Friday 10 July at 10am, the Prime Minister will be giving an address to all school leavers which will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.
Please encourage your final year students to tune in!
A recording of the address will be available to view on both platforms.
Plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education at the start of the autumn term
The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, announced our plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education at the start of the autumn term in Parliament today.
We have published the supporting guidance that provides schools, colleges and nurseries with the details to plan for a full return. The guidance has been developed in close consultation with sector stakeholders and medical experts from Public Health England.
Nurseries and other early years providers, including childminders, have already been welcoming back children of all ages since 1 June, with a range of protective measures in place. From 20 July, restrictions on group sizes for nurseries, childminders and other early years providers will be lifted, increasing capacity for more children to return, as set out in the updated guidance.
The schools guidance sets out a range of measures to protect children and staff. This guidance applies to all mainstream schools, alternative provision, independent schools and boarding schools and sets out advice on how you can minimise contact and mixing. Separate guidance has also been published for special schools.
We have also published guidance for parents and carers on the plans for the autumn term to help reassure them about what to expect for their children.
The guidance for the full opening of schools from the start of the autumn term can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak
The updated guidance on actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures
The new guidance for the full opening of special schools and other specialist settings from the start of the autumn term can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings
The new guidance on what further education colleges and providers will need to do from the start of the 2020 autumn term can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision
The guidance for what parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges in the autumn term can be found here:
The updated guidance on re-opening buildings and campuses for higher education (HE) can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-he-providers-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak
We have published guidance for providers that run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children. We are aware many providers are already considering what protective measures to put in place to allow them to reopen more widely and as safely as possible during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
This new guidance will support their planning and advises on practical steps they can take to minimise the risk to children, staff and parents who attend. Providers who open should implement this new guidance from the end of summer term, when state schools in their local area have closed. Until then, while schools are open in a provider’s local area, they should follow the same protective measures as schools to limit different groups of children mixing.
We have also published guidance for parents and carers setting out what they need to know about changes to after-school clubs, holiday clubs, tuition, community activities and other out-of-school settings for children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We have included information on what clubs and activities children and young people can attend, and what new safety measures parents and carers can expect them to have in place.
The guidance for providers can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
The guidance for parents and carers can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
Updated guidance on what parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated the guidance on what parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We have added content on summer provision, school uniform and a package of support worth £1 billion to support pupils to catch up. We have updated content on school meals and the Covid Summer Food Fund.
Communicating with parents
We know schools are doing all they can to reassure parents of the safety measures which are in place to welcome eligible children back to school and college this term.
To support schools with this, as part of the Government’s central “Stay Alert” campaign, you are likely to see information adverts on these measures on the radio and online to reassure parents that if their child is eligible to attend school, they should return before the summer break. These messages will sit alongside wider government messaging about public transport and returning to work, which aim to reassure the public as changes to lockdown measures are made.
The leaflets and films below are for parents of children in primary and secondary. You may want to share these with your parent network to support your engagement with children and families who have questions.
The leaflets can be found here:
https://coronavirusresources.phe.gov.uk/schools-/resources/leaflets/
The film for primary school pupils can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiefaCf2fvY
The film for secondary school pupils can be found here:
https://youtu.be/foQuuIWonl8
Iceland and the Company Group vouchers now available through the free school meal national voucher scheme
Through the free school meal (FSM) national voucher scheme, you can now select eGift cards for Iceland and the Company Group alongside:
Guidance on providing free school meals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:
These eGift cards will also be available through the Covid Summer Food Fund, which will enable children who are eligible for benefits-related FSM to be supported over the summer holiday period. All vouchers for the summer holidays must be ordered at least one week before your school’s summer term ends.
Please read the short guidance document in full before ordering, to ensure your orders are processed correctly. The payments for the fund will be met centrally by the Department for Education.
The COVID Summer Food Fund guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-summer-food-fund
We have also updated the application form and guidance on the temporary extension of free school meals to no recourse to public funds (NRPF) groups. This is to reflect the change in annual household income threshold to £16,190 after tax.
The sample application form and guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups
Updated guidance for children’s social care services
We have updated the guidance for children’s social care services to clarify that all primary and most secondary legislation remains unchanged and that we have made temporary and time-limited amendments to secondary legislation. We have also added content on missing children, testing, technology initiatives and social care services for disabled children and young people and their families. We have also revised the sections on court, fostering and adoption to provide further information.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services
Updated guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from coronavirus (COVID-19)
On 22 June, the Government set out a series of steps for further relaxing shielding guidance which will come into effect on 6 July and 1 August, taking into account that coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates have decreased significantly over the last few weeks.
From 1 August, the Government will be advising that shielding will be paused. From this date, those people previously shielding are advised to adopt strict social distancing rather than full shielding measures. Children who are clinically extremely vulnerable can return to their education settings if they are eligible and in line with their peers.
Where possible children should practice frequent hand washing and social distancing. The Public Health England guidance for people who are shielding has been updated to reflect the changes.
The full guidance can be found here:
Thousands of children to benefit from free meals and activities during summer 2020
The Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme will support up to 50,000 disadvantaged children across 17 local authority areas and help them to stay healthy and active this summer. Ten providers were successful in their bid for the programme, and each organisation will deliver at least four weeks of free activities and healthy food during July and August 2020.
The full news story can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-children-to-benefit-from-free-meals-and-activities
The Duchess of Cambridge to lead an online assembly on mental wellbeing among children
Tomorrow, the Duchess of Cambridge will lead an online assembly for the Oak National Academy during which she will speak about the importance of mental wellbeing among children. The theme of the Duchess’ assembly is ‘spread a little kindness’ and is based on a lesson plan which is available on the Mentally Healthy Schools platform. This platform was developed in collaboration with children’s mental health charity Place2Be and encourages children to explore ways in which they can show kindness and recognise the benefits of kindness to others.
The Mentally Healthy Schools platform can be accessed here:
https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/
The assembly will be live on the Oak National Academy website at 11am on Thursday 18 June and can be accessed here:
https://classroom.thenational.academy/assemblies/
A recording of the assembly will be available to view on the Oak National Academy website following the event.
Updated handwashing advice
The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene. E-Bug has published posters on hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes, to display in bathrooms, classrooms and shared spaces.
The hand and respiratory hygiene posters and other educational resources can be found here:
https://e-bug.eu
Safer travel guidance for passengers
From today it is the law that you must wear a face covering when travelling in England on public transport including a bus, coach, tram or train. Where travel with children is necessary, such as to an education setting, consider whether children could walk or cycle, accompanied by a responsible adult or carer, where appropriate. The law requiring passengers to wear face coverings does not apply to children under the age of 11. Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 3, for safety.
Children, even if they are over 11, are not required to wear face coverings on school transport. School transport is that provided by local authorities, academy trusts or schools for the specific purpose of transporting children to and from their home and school.
The Department for Transport’s guidance can be found here:
Updated guidance on summer 2020 grades for GCSE, AS and A level
Ofqual has updated their guidance for teachers, students, parents and carers on summer 2020 grades for GCSE, AS and A level, Extended Project Qualification and Advanced Extension Award in mathematics.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2020
Extra mental health support for pupils and teachers
Yesterday the government announced that new online resources designed by health and education experts will be provided to schools and colleges to boost mental health support for staff and pupils, encouraging them to talk more confidently about the anxieties and concerns they feel as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The full press release can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers
Updated guidance on the actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated our guidance on the actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include additional information on the early years entitlements funding and infection prevention and control. We have also added new information on the use of community centres or places of worship as premises for providers on the early years register, before and after school clubs, attendance and information on safeguarding and welfare.
Updated guidance on providing apprenticeships during the coronavirus outbreak
We have updated our guidance on providing apprenticeships during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include information on which apprentices should be prioritised for face-to-face training from 15 June, and details of the flexibility that enables apprentices to take end-point assessment ahead of receiving their calculated functional skills qualification results.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response
Updated guidance on what parents and carers need to know about education settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
We have updated our guidance on what parents and carers need to know about schools and other education settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include information on the curriculum, after school activities, repeating a year for pupils, transport and keeping children safe online. We have also amended information on whether it is compulsory to send pupils to educational settings and education for children at home.
Ofsted to review the online further education experience of students and apprentices during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Ofsted is carrying out an exploratory review of the quality of learners’ experiences of online education in further education and skills settings. Ofsted will carry out the review this month and will speak remotely to managers, teachers and trainers from further education colleges and skills providers who have volunteered to discuss their delivery of online teaching and learning.
The review aims to provide insights into the sector’s experiences of online education and to identify areas of strength and potential for improvement. This will support post-16 providers re-visiting their online education strategies, particularly from September 2020 onwards.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-to-review-students-and-apprentices-online-further-education-experience
Updated guidance for parents and carers on the wider opening of educational settings
We have updated our information for parents and carers about the wider opening of education settings to include details about opening secondary schools to years 10 and year 12 pupils from 15 June and to provide links to guidance on safer travel.
Space related educational resources for home schooling
The UK Space Agency has published a collection of space related educational resources that schools, parents and carers can use when teaching their children at home.
The resources are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/space-related-educational-resources-for-home-schooling
Primary schools and early years settings opening to more pupils from 1 June
The Prime Minister has confirmed that the government’s five tests are now being met, and based on all the evidence we will now move forward with plans for the wider opening of education and early years settings. From 1 June, primary schools will begin to welcome back children in Reception, year 1 and year 6, while nurseries and other early years providers will begin welcoming back children of all ages.
Full details of this announcement can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-press-conference-statement-on-the-five-tests-28-may-2020
Updated guidance on providing free school meals during the coronavirus outbreak
We have updated our guidance on the provision of free school meals during the coronavirus outbreak to include updated information on the provision of meals for pupils attending school, the national voucher scheme and the use of food parcels.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance
Testing now available to anyone with symptoms of coronavirus
The government has announced that anyone with symptoms of coronavirus is now eligible to book a test, including children under the age of 5 years. Anyone experiencing a new, continuous cough; high temperature; or a loss of, or change, in their normal sense of smell or taste (anosmia) can book a test.
A coronavirus test can be booked here:
Essential workers in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, can apply for priority testing through GOV.UK. A coronavirus test can be booked here:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-essential-workers
Launch of the NHS Test and Trace service
The new NHS Test and Trace service has launched today and will form a central part of the government’s coronavirus recovery strategy.
Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and will need to share information about their recent interactions.
Further information on the NHS Test and Trace service can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-nhs-test-and-trace-service
Guidance on the NHS Test and Trace service for employers, businesses and workers can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-workplace-guidance
Guidance on how the NHS Test and Trace works can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works
Public Health England has published guidance that explains what you should do if the NHS Test and Trace service notifies you that you are a contact of a person who has tested positive for coronavirus and you do not live with that person.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person
Updated guidance on isolation for residential educational settings
We have updated the guidance on isolation for residential educational settings to include updated information on the symptoms of coronavirus and the definition of a ‘household’ in a residential setting.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-isolation-for-residential-educational-settings
Department for Transport travelling advice for parents and pupils
The Department for Transport has issued advice on how parents and pupils can travel to school safely as part of the #TravelSafely campaign. Resources have been developed to ensure that parents, pupils and staff have the information they need to stay safe on the public transport network. This includes information developed in collaboration with respected partners on how to cycle and walk safely, where possible.
Resources can be found here:
https://extranet.dft.gov.uk/safer-transport-campaign/schools/
Schools and nurseries on track to open to more children from 1 June
The Prime Minister has confirmed that schools and nurseries across England remain on track to open to more children from 1 June, subject to the Government’s five tests being met. Primary schools will welcome back children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, while nurseries and other early years providers will begin welcoming back children of all ages.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-confirms-schools-colleges-and-nurseries-on-track-to-begin-phased-reopening
Guidance for secondary school provision from 15 June
The government has announced that secondary schools should offer face-to-face support for a quarter of Year 10 and 12 pupils at any one time from 15 June. This is in addition to the current provision for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers in all year groups.
We have published guidance for secondary schools that sets out considerations for preparing to open to more children and putting in place protective measures to limit the transmission of coronavirus. This guide is designed for mainstream and alternative provision secondary schools (including those with a school sixth form).
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june
A planning guide for early years and childcare settings
We have published a planning guide for early years and childcare settings to help them open more widely from the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest. The guide sets out considerations for preparing to open to more children and putting in place protective measures to limit the transmission of coronavirus. It has been developed in consultation with early years sector bodies and providers from a variety of different settings. Every setting is different and it is not a requirement to use all parts of this toolkit. Settings may use their professional judgement and choose to follow alternative approaches depending on their particular circumstances, but at all times will need to take account of relevant public health guidance to maximise safety for those in the environment.
The planning guide for early years and childcare settings can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june
Explanatory note on SAGE modelling
We have published an explanatory note on SAGE’s paper assessing the potential impact of more children returning to school on the transmission of coronavirus.
The explanatory note and the SAGE modelling paper can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-explanatory-note-on-sage-modelling
Online educational resources to support children to continue learning at home
We have updated our list of online resources that schools and parents can consider to support children’s continued learning at home. Schools have already been drawing on existing resources and tools they are familiar with to support children to continue learning at home and should continue to do so.
Schools can also now download the Oak National Academy schools pack, which provides guidance and videos to share and download. Packs are available for primary, secondary and specialist schools, and include the full Oak curriculum (until the end of summer term) to help schools plan.
Further information on the Oak schools pack and other remote education resources can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Awarding qualifications in summer 2020
The consultation outcomes for exceptional arrangements for exam grading and assessment in 2020 can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/exceptional-arrangements-for-exam-grading-and-assessment-in-2020
The consultation outcomes and response documents on the assessment and grading of vocational, technical and other general qualifications can also be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/exceptional-arrangements-for-assessment-and-grading-in-2020
Ofqual has published guidance for teachers, students, parents and carers on how GCSE, AS, A level, vocational and technical qualifications will be graded and awarded in summer 2020.
Arrangements for additional GCSE, AS and A level exam series in autumn 2020
The exceptional exam series was announced by the government when it cancelled the summer 2020 exam series as part of its response to the coronavirus outbreak. Ofqual has published a consultation on the proposed arrangements for an additional GCSE, AS and A level exam series to take place in autumn 2020. The deadline for responses is 8 June.
Further information on this consultation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-an-additional-gcse-as-and-a-level-exam-series-in-autumn-2020
We have published new guidance for centres on who should be responsible for entering candidates for autumn exams and to provide clarity on the exam entry arrangements.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsibility-for-autumn-gcse-as-and-a-level-exam-series
Assessment only route for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
We have updated our candidate assessment advice for qualified teacher status (QTS) to explain what should happen when a candidate’s progression on the assessment only route is interrupted as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-assessment-only-route-to-qts/assessment-only-route-to-qts-criteria-and-supporting-advice
Updated Student Loans Company guidance for current and prospective students
The Student Loans Company has updated their guidance for current and prospective students to include information on applying for Disabled Students’ Allowances.
The guidance for current students can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-current-students
The guidance for prospective students can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-for-prospective-students
Guidance for parents and carers on supporting their children’s education during the coronavirus outbreak
We have published information, guidance and support for parents and carers of children who are learning at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Guidance on helping secondary school children continue their education during the coronavirus outbreak can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-secondary-school-children-continue-their-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19
We have updated our guidance on helping primary school aged children learn at home to include information on the wider opening of educational settings.
The government has announced that anyone with symptoms of coronavirus is now eligible to book a test, ahead of the rollout of the test and trace service. Anyone experiencing a new, continuous cough; high temperature; or a loss of, or change, in their normal sense of smell or taste (anosmia) can book a test.
Essential workers in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, can apply for priority testing through GOV.UK. A coronavirus test can be booked here:
Updated guidance on managing school premises during the coronavirus outbreak
We have updated our guidance on managing school premises during the coronavirus outbreak with information on preparing for the wider opening of schools, including guidance on water systems, ventilation, fire safety and cleaning.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-school-premises-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak
Guidance on the wider opening of education and childcare settings
We have published guidance on our plans to open education and childcare settings to more children from 1 June, at the earliest.
Guidance on the actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June, at the earliest, can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020
Guidance on implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings
Guidance for parents and carers as schools and other education settings in England open to more children and young people can be found here:
Department for Education coronavirus helpline – Monday 25 May Bank Holiday opening hours
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care.
The helpline will remain open over the May Bank Holiday weekend for staff, parents and young people as follows:
10am to 4pm – Saturday, Sunday and Monday
Our standard opening hours will resume on Tuesday 26 May:
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline
Secretary of State for Education’s statement on coronavirus
Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, spoke at the daily press conference on Saturday about the Government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and plans for schools safely opening to more pupils.
The transcript of the speech can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/education-secretarys-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-16-may
We have updated our guidance on the provision of free school meals during the coronavirus outbreak to reflect the plans for the wider opening of schools from 1 June, at the earliest.
Yesterday we published guidance on our plans to open education and childcare settings to more children from 1 June.
Guidance on the actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June can be found here:
Safer travel guidance for passengers during the coronavirus outbreak
The Department for Transport has published guidance on travelling safely during the coronavirus outbreak, providing information on walking, cycling, using private vehicles, travelling in taxis and on public transport. Information on children travelling on public transport is also provided in this guidance.
Working safely during the coronavirus outbreak
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published guidance on working safely during the coronavirus outbreak. This guidance is to help employers and employees understand how to work safely and covers offices, labs and research facilities, construction and factories which may be relevant to some education settings.
The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy
The government has published its roadmap for how and when the UK will adjust its response to the coronavirus outbreak. This document describes the progress the UK has made to date in tackling the coronavirus outbreak and sets out the plans for moving to the next phase of its response to the virus.
The roadmap can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-covid-19-recovery-strategy
Frequently asked questions on what you can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak have also been published. Those relating to schools and childcare can be found at section 6:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do
Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June
From 1 June we expect to be able to ask primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6. We will also ask secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges to offer some face-to-face support before the summer holidays to supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 students who are due to take key exams next year. Nurseries and other early years providers, including childminders, will also be asked to begin welcoming back children from 1 June. Existing arrangements for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers in all settings will continue, and we encourage all eligible children in these priority groups to attend.
We have published guidance for education and childcare settings on the actions required to prepare for wider opening from 1 June. In this document we set out the overarching aims and principles of this next phase. We will work with the sector to produce further guidance ahead of 1 June.
Implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings
We have published guidance on the implementation of protective measures in education and childcare settings. There are important actions that can be taken to open settings to more children in the safest way possible, focusing on protective measures that can be put in place to limit the risk of the virus spreading.
Guidance for parents and carers as schools and other education settings in England open to more children and young people
We have published guidance for parents and carers on the opening of schools and other education settings to more children. This guidance provides information on when and how we will open education settings to more children.
Eligibility for government childcare offers protected
The government has announced that any working parent usually eligible for 30 hours free childcare or Tax-Free Childcare will remain eligible if they fall below the minimum income requirement due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Subject to Parliamentary approval, parents who are critical workers will also remain eligible for these entitlements if their income has increased over the maximum threshold during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
This temporary flexibility will ensure critical workers can continue to access the childcare they need to enable them to work. These arrangements will be reviewed over the summer.
This announcement can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/eligibility-for-government-childcare-offers-protected
Ofqual publishes initial decisions on GCSE and A level grading proposals for 2020
Ofqual has published their initial decisions on the consultation for the exceptional arrangements they have put in place for awarding GCSEs, AS and A levels this summer.
Ofqual has announced that students entered for these exams in year 10 and below will be eligible to receive calculated grades this summer.
Further details on the outcome of the consultation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofqual-publishes-initial-decisions-on-gcse-and-a-level-grading-proposals-for-2020
New virtual cyber initiative for teenagers
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced an online initiative that aims to inspire school pupils to work in the cyber security sector through a range of extracurricular activities including online classes. This provides the opportunity to learn and develop the important skills required for future jobs in areas like cyber security from home.
Full details of this announcement and the resources available can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-virtual-cyber-school-gives-teens-chance-to-try-out-as-cyber-security-agents-from-home
Department for Education coronavirus helpline – Friday 8 May Bank Holiday opening hours
The helpline will remain open over the early May Bank Holiday weekend for staff, parents and young people as follows:
10am to 4pm – Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Our standard opening hours will resume on Monday 11 May:
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.
Updated guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings
The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated with additional information on the Friday 8 May Bank Holiday, a link to the updated admissions appeals guidance and updates to the support and educational resources available to parents to help them educate their children at home.
Private candidates entered for GCSEs, AS and A levels
Ofqual has published an update to its guidance on private candidates entered for GCSEs, AS and A levels this summer.
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published supplementary information which is available here:
http://www.jcq.org.uk/media-centre/news-releases/jcq-publishes-supplementary-information-on-validation-of-evidence
Schools, colleges and other exam centres that have accepted entries from private candidates for exams this summer should contact those candidates as soon as possible to let them know whether they will be able to provide centre assessment grades for them and include them in their centre’s rank order. Centres should seek advice from the exam board on more complex cases.
Government support package for universities and students
The Government has today announced a range of measures to protect students and the higher education sector from the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19). The stabilisation and support measures include temporary student number controls and £100m of public funding being brought forward to this academic year to help protect university research activities. In addition, an estimated £2.6bn of tuition fee payments will be bought forward to help universities better manage financial risks over the autumn.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students
McColl’s joins the free school meals national voucher scheme
McColl’s has joined the list of supermarkets that will redeem vouchers secured through the free school meals national voucher scheme. Supermarkets available also include Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Asda and Morrisons.
Students in England encouraged to apply now for student finance
The Student Loans Company has confirmed that the application service will remain open to students as part of its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and are encouraging students in England to apply for student finance as soon as possible to ensure their finances are in place for the new academic year.
New students are being asked to submit their applications before 22 May 2020. The Student Loans Company is contacting returning students to remind them to reapply for their next year’s student finance. The deadline for these applications is 19 June.
Applications for student finance can be made here:
https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
Public Health England has updated their guidance for households with possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection
Public Health England has published guidance for households with grandparents, parents and children living together where someone is at risk or has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing eligibility extended to help protect the most vulnerable
The government has announced that anyone in England showing symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) who has to leave the home to go to work, or is aged 65 and over, is eligible for testing along with members of their households with symptoms. This is in addition to all essential workers with symptoms. Testing can be booked through a new online system.
Guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) testing, including who is eligible for a test, how to get tested and the different types of test available can be found here:
Updates to the school admission appeals process
It is important parents continue to have the right to appeal any school admission decisions. To enable this, we have made regulatory changes that came into force on 24 April 2020 and will remain in place until 31 January 2021. The new regulations give admission authorities the flexibility to manage appeals whilst ensuring families are supported and not disadvantaged by current measures to protect public health.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-appeals-code
Ofqual seeks views on awarding vocational and technical qualifications in summer 2020
Ofqual has published a consultation on the exceptional arrangements for awarding vocational, technical and general qualifications (other than GCSEs, AS and A levels) in summer 2020. The deadline for responses is 8 May.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofqual-consultation-on-awarding-vocational-and-technical-qualifications-in-summer-2020
The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated with additional information on the resources available to parents to help them educate their children at home, eligibility for device and connectivity at home, and keeping children safe online.
Update on national voucher scheme for schools providing free school meals
Schools and families have now converted over £20 million worth of vouchers into supermarket gift cards. If you have ordered eCodes and are waiting for them to be delivered, this can take up to 4 days. All orders placed up to 19 April have been delivered.
Please note that if you have ordered eCodes to go direct to the school rather than direct to the family, then the school will either need to convert the eCode into a gift card for a supermarket and then give it to the family, or provide the family with instructions so they can convert the code into a voucher themselves.
If you have not received eCodes you have ordered, please check your ‘junk’ folders before contacting Edenred at freeschoolmeals@edenred.com.
Full details of this scheme can be found here:
This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Flexibility to use early years entitlement funding to secure childcare for children of critical workers and vulnerable children
Local authorities will, in exceptional cases, be able to redistribute their free childcare entitlement funding differently to ensure sufficient childcare places are available for the children of critical workers and for vulnerable children, where their usual arrangements are no longer possible as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19).
We have updated our guidance on early years and childcare closures for local authorities, early years settings and childminders to include this information.
Aldi joins free school meals national voucher scheme
Aldi has joined the list of supermarkets that will redeem vouchers secured through the free school meals national voucher scheme. Supermarkets available also include Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Asda and Morrisons. Schools will be able to order vouchers for Aldi through Edenred from the week commencing 27 April.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/aldi-joins-free-school-meal-voucher-scheme
Launch of the Oak National Academy online classroom and resource hub
The sector-led Oak National Academy has today launched its online classroom and resource hub. The Academy offers 180 video lessons each week for schools to use, across a broad range of subjects. The lessons cover children in Reception through to Year 10 and are free to use by both teachers and young people.
The Oak National Academy can be accessed here:
https://www.thenational.academy/
Launch of BBC Bitesize
The BBC has today launched an education package across TV and online, featuring celebrities and teachers, helping to keep children learning at home and supporting parents.
BBC Bitesize can be accessed here:
Get help with technology and remote education during coronavirus (COVID-19)
Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Education on Sunday 19 April, laptops and tablets will be made available to help the most disadvantaged young people access online learning and social care services. Young people and families eligible for devices must not already have access to one, and must be in one of the following groups:
Children with a social worker
Disadvantaged children in Year 10, ahead of sitting their GCSEs next year
Responsible bodies will need to work with schools to identify eligible young people, and then place an order through our website when it launches later this week. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children do not have an internet connection, they will also receive a 4G router.
Schools will be able to keep these devices once they’ve reopened, allowing children and young people to continue to learn and receive support at home in the future.
Any 16 to 19-year olds in education without a suitable device and/or connectivity to study remotely and whose family can’t afford these costs will also be eligible for support via the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Decisions on support will be made by education providers.
Funding and financial support for education, early years and children’s social care
We have published guidance that sets out the financial support that is available for different types of education, early years and children’s social care providers in England.
This guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care
Special educational needs and disability (SEND) risk assessment guidance
We have published guidance on risk assessment for settings supporting children and young people with an education, health and care plan during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance
Guidance for schools on safeguarding and remote education during coronavirus (COVID-19)
We have published guidance to help schools and teachers understand how to follow safeguarding procedures when teaching remotely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Guidance for parents and carers on supporting their children’s education during coronavirus (COVID-19)
We have published information, guidance and support for parents and carers of children who are learning at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
The guidance for education settings and local authorities on supporting vulnerable children and young people has been updated. This update includes clarification to the existing guidance on attendance.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people
The information below has not changed.
If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the hotline.
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.
Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools and at home:
https://e-bug.eu/
Collection of guidance for educational settings on GOV.UK
All of the Department for Education’s coronavirus guidance for educational settings can now be found in one place on GOV.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings
Our main guidance for schools, the ‘school closures guidance’, will be regularly kept up-to-date. Any new advice for schools on specific issues, such as food, exams or safeguarding, will be linked from it:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures
SEATSS How to get help during Covid
briefing for staff and members-23 MARCH 2020
Letter to parents re academy closure - 20.03.20
Letter to parents re Coronavirus 3 - 18.03.20
Letter to parents re Coronavirus - 17.03.20
Letter to parents re COVID-19 - 13.03.20
Coronavirus - Useful Links Version 5.0
Advice on the coronavirus for places of education
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Related topics: Metals, South Carolina
SC: Carolina Metal Castings to Invest $3M, Create 13 Jobs in Jasper County
Carolina Metal Castings, a full-service provider of aftermarket metal castings, is expanding its manufacturing operations in Jasper County. The project will result in 13 new jobs and an investment of more than $3 million over the next five years.
In operation for more than 40 years, Carolina Metal Castings is a full-service jobbing foundry that specializes in custom and limited production work. Producing its own tooling in-house, the company also completes its own moldings, castings and heat treatments in-house.
Located at 354 Industrial Park Road in Hardeeville, S.C., this project will double the facility's production capacity and consolidate the company's operations into one location. For more information on Carolina Metal Castings, visit the company's website online.
"We are very excited to take this next step in our development. The SC Department of Commerce along with other government agencies have been very helpful in making this expansion possible." -President of Carolina Metal Castings Jim Harwood
"Carolina Metal Castings' decision to expand its South Carolina operations is a huge win for the company and for our state as a whole. We're excited to congratulate the company on the success they've found here, this $3 million investment, and the 13 new jobs it means for Jasper County." -Gov. Nikki Haley
"While the recruitment of new businesses to our state is a major part of our economic development strategy, the success of our existing industries is just as important. Today, we celebrate the achievements of Carolina Metal Castings in Jasper County and look forward to their continued success in the future." -Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt
"Every job created makes a difference for a family in our county. Carolina Metal Castings brings excellence in craftsmanship and manufacturing to every job, and we are proud to see their products manufactured in our community." -Jasper County Chairman Marty Sauls
"Jim Harwood and Carolina Metal Castings have invested in our workforce and our community, and we appreciate his commitment to growing the business in our region." -SouthernCarolina Alliance Chairman Buddy Phillips
Carolina Metal Castings is expanding operations in Jasper County.
Carolina Metal Castings is a full-service jobbing foundry that specializes in custom and limited production work.
Their manufacturing operation is located at 354 Industrial Park Road, Hardeeville, S.C.
For more information, visit the company's website online.
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West Marine raises funds for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
West Marine raised more than $41,300 in support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society during an October fundraiser in stores across the country.
West Marine encouraged customers to donate to the cause at checkout through its in-store promotion and add their name to a paper sailboat to display in the store.
During the 31-day fundraiser nearly 16,700 sailboats were signed by West Marine customers.
The fundraiser coincided with the wrap-up of the LLS’s 2017 Leukemia Cup Regatta campaign, a series of sailing events held at yacht clubs across North America. Skippers registered their boats and recruited friends and colleagues to help crew, raise funds and sponsor their boat.
The funds raised will help support lifesaving research and patient services, bringing hope to blood cancer patients and their families.
Since the Leukemia Cup Regatta’s inception, more than $62 million has been raised to help advance the LLS mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
“West Marine is honored to partner with LLS’s Leukemia Cup Regatta and help accelerate cures,” West Marine marketing senior vice president Deb Radcliff said in a statement. “The connection that many of our customers and associates have to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s cause was inspirational for both our associates’ and customers’ families. In the two years we’ve conducted the paper sailboat campaign we are proud to have raised nearly $85,000 for LLS.”
“The West Marine associates and customer family support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been incredible,” said sailing legend Gary Jobson, who has served as national chairman of the Leukemia Cup Regatta campaign for 25 years. “As a lymphoma survivor I am all the more grateful for the help that companies like West Marine and overall sailing communities have provided to LLS.”
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Live and Kicking
LTW brings the expected and unexpected to its main stage
By Sherilyn Forrester
The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley-TYA version
presented by All Together Theatre at Live Theatre Workshop
327-4242; www.livetheatreworkshop.org
presented by Etcetera at Live Theater Workshop
10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through June 27
I guess it wouldn’t be totally unheard of that a reputable theater group, even though located in a strip mall, would be opening two shows in the same week, one called “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley-(TYA version)” and the other called “The F Word.” But it might take a little extra convincing, even if you are a Live Theatre Workshop regular.
A lot of us are familiar with the consistently entertaining plays these folks produce. But a lot of us don’t know the half of what goes on. We might be familiar, if we read the program, that there’s some sort of children’s activities on Sunday morning before the “real” show. But it’s just a bunch of kids putting on a cute little show to delight their families, right? Wrong!
The All Together Theater is a no low-rent treat for the kiddies. It’s actual theater, performed by adults that both kids and adults can enjoy. And its work is going to get a chance to shine in prime-time for a few weeks as it proudly presents a show as part of the main stage season.
Amanda Gremel and Stephen Frankenfield head up the education arm of LTW, which has a lot more going on than just producing plays with family appeal. But that’s a story for another time. Right now the two are working hard to see that the All Together Theatre isn’t LTW’s lowly stepchild.
“Amanda, even before I came on full-time, wanted to have a main stage shot because we want to showcase for a different audience the kind of things we do” says Frankenfield, a fine actor who can often be seen in the shows for grownups. This opportunity, he says, will allow ATT to stretch its wings, to put more emphasis on sets and costumes, because as it is now, they have to work around the sets for the shows on the main stage.
Frankenfield is directing “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley (TYA version)”—that means “theater for young audiences”—which is based on Jeff Brown’s 1964 book, “Flat Stanley,” about a boy who longs to do something amazing. He has his chance when, one night as he sleeps, the bulletin board above his bed falls on him and leaves him flat. As in two-dimensional. It’s not so bad at first, but a two-dimensional life has its limitations. So Stanley comes up with a plan: he will slide inside an envelope and travel the world as a human letter, searching for a plan to become the un-flat Stan. If you’re a kid or a parent you know this book.
Running this show as a main stage production “is an experiment for us, so just getting people in here would make it a success,” Frankenfield admits. “But we hope it will change the way they think about what we do. It’s a really good show, and people should see it.”
Another experiment is taking place in the LTW program that has been known as Etcetera. For years it was the late-night showcase for edgier works. But in an organic way—no one person’s will is being imposed—it’s identity is shifting. Michael Martinez, who is executive director of LTW, explains that Etcetera is being “reshaped to be theater that is more directly connected to the community,” a place to showcase things that are experimental and that originate here. “We are the producers, but we are opening it up to people who might be doing work around town as well.”
Which brings us to Maryann Green and “The F Word.” And, no, it’s not that F word.
Green, a theater instructor at Rincon and University High Schools for 15 years, has a wild streak, theatrically speaking. She’s very much into experimenting and challenging herself, which, in a way, of course, challenges her students. She’s even participated in the Tucson Fringe Festival with great success. Last November she heard about Time magazine’s fourth annual poll to banish a word from our vocabulary, and they included the word “feminist” in the list.
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Friday, Jan. 15: Pima County Vaccination Appointments Fill up in Two Hours; With 11K+ New Cases, AZ Total Number Shoots Past 658K; Death Toll Tops 11K; Hospital Warn They Remain on the Edge as Pressure Grows
Huh? Well, that was Green’s reaction, which was relatively calm compared to the reactions of a good many others.
“But it got me thinking,” says Green. “What was it about this word that it should be banished? What is feminism anyway? Am I a feminist? I didn’t want to explore all this alone so I decided to do the research through the medium I know best. I gathered a few of my favorite collaborators and thinkers. I did man-on-the-street interviews about gender identity and feminism, and over the course of the last eight weeks we’ve developed what we feel is a pretty cool, thought-provoking piece of theater.”
It includes improvisation, scripted scenes, and she’s made sure there’s a personal story from each member of the cast, who are all former students. And it’s full of humor.
“I didn’t want it to be a liberal, left-wing soapbox, because that would be really easy to do; the challenge has been to present the other side. The goal is really to start a conversation, to get the audience thinking. Theater is a powerful medium, but this is not a propaganda piece. I’m not trying to tell the audience what to think. I just want them to think.”
Sherilyn Forrester
More by Sherilyn Forrester
Spring Arts Theatre: Troupe Movements
Food for Thought: Two Trains Running
A Roguish Bard
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'The Flight Attendant's Zosia Mamet on Annie's Season 1 Journey & Hopes for What's Next
Phil Caruso/HBO Max
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for all of Season 1 of The Flight Attendant.]
As rough a season as it is for Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco), The Flight Attendant is no walk in the park for her best friend, lawyer Annie (Zosia Mamet).
The series starts with Cassie finding Alex Sokolov (Michiel Huisman), her one-night stand, dead next to her in bed, and from there she goes on a wild adventure investigating his murder. That's where Annie comes in. To help out her friend, Annie calls in a favor from one of her firm's clients and, in return, she has to do something for them: Bring deadly pills, unbeknownst to her, to someone in prison. (It's not until he quickly pops the pills that she realizes what she's done.) Upping her bad week, her boyfriend Max (Deniz Akdeniz), who's also helping Cassie, ends up in the hospital after a car purposefully rams into him.
In a brave move, Annie decides to give up the big bucks she makes working with nefarious clients, and quits. Of course, given what she's done, she now fears being disbarred. We caught up with Mamet, who says it's possible Annie's done with law completely. "I think [the creative team is] sussing out where they want the show to go next," she says. Plus, she tells us about her character sticking through thick and thin with an unreliable friend, why Annie's life is now "messy, but good messy," and more.
'The Flight Attendant' Boss Breaks Down a Very Satisfying Finale
Plus, some tantalizing hints about a potential second season.
Annie's life is pretty much in disarray by the end of the season. How is she feeling about herself?
Zosia Mamet: There's this interesting fallacy in the world that you get everything figured out in your 20s and by the time you hit your 30s, you're on your way. [But instead], you're like, "Wait a second, I don't have anything figured out and maybe a lot of the choices I made weren't right." A lot of people could have a mini-existential crisis. It just happened to Annie in a much bigger way. She's very good at compartmentalizing. She's spent the majority of her adult working life in denial that all her success is at the expense of denying horrible things happening, giving the upper hand to and protecting very bad people.
(Phil Caruso/HBO Max)
So, her life is in disarray, but she's being a lot more honest about herself. It's like when you get out of a bad relationship, and you might feel like s**t except you know it was still the right choice to make. Now nothing is in its right place and she has no idea what the future looks like, but she definitely feels more at ease with herself as a human with a moral compass. [It's] messy, but good messy.
Is Annie worried the firm and those clients may come calling again?
Once you're in bed with the mob and whatever form it takes, it's not like you can say, "Oh, here's my 30 day notice." You're beholden to them. I'm sure she's going to be looking over her shoulder for quite some time.
'The Flight Attendant' Takes Off for a Second Season at HBO Max
The news comes one day after the Season 1 finale was released on HBO Max.
Annie and Cassie's friendship is back on track after that major fight.
Their friendship shed a skin in a way. They have that big fight and all these horrible things are said, but they've chosen to move forward because they love and adore each other. Hopefully their friendship will function a little bit better and be a little bit more honest.
Even when Annie wasn't sure whether to believe what Cassie was telling her, she went out on a limb for her.
Annie goes through some pretty natural reactions, just as anyone would to someone they love, but also know has a substance problem and is a little bit of a loose cannon. You ride that line of, "I love you and want to protect you and be there for you, but also are you maybe crazy? Just drunk? Are you telling me the truth?" That's a lot of Annie's journey with Cassie and she finally has a breaking point with her with Max and decides she's insane and taps out, then clearly realizes she's wrong and tries to help her.
It was a lot of fun to watch Annie find out Miranda (Michelle Gomez) was real.
I'm so happy you liked that. That was a fun, eight-page scene [and] the first time Michelle, Kaley, and I all got to work together. I remember our director that day asked, "Did you want to break it up?" and we were like, "Let's just go for it." We nailed the first take, all of us remembered all of our lines, and we were so proud of ourselves.
(HBO Max)
Max being in the hospital finally prompts Annie to admit what he means to her. Why was it so hard for her to do that before?
I'm not a big backstory person, so I'm not entirely sure what happened to Annie to make her how she is. She's a very independent creature and incredibly strong, but a lot of her strength comes from this hard shell around her that protects a huge amount of vulnerability. She puts all these walls up to keep herself safe. I imagine she never really cared about anyone as much as Max. It was probably always very casual affairs.
Dory Plays Prisoner in 'Search Party's Season 4 Trailer for HBO Max (VIDEO)
Plus, find out when the dark comedy will return.
The fact that she loves someone is really scary to her because that creates a huge amount of vulnerability — you're opening your heart to someone and that's a scary thing, even if you're a super-open person. As the season progresses, we see Annie's walls slowly start to crumble, and him almost dying is a huge wakeup call. [But] she's like, "I haven't totally changed, let's not get ahead of ourselves." The way he handles her is so sweet and loving, and he's so endeared by her attempts to keep him at bay. He's just going to slowly melt her as they go along.
What are your hopes for Annie in a second season?
I'm down to go on any ride that [creator] Steve [Yockey], the writers, and Kaley want to take me on. Obviously, I adore working with Kaley and Deniz, who I spent most of my time with. I am obsessed with Michelle Gomez, who is such a riot and so much fun to work with. We really only had that one scene together, so I'd love to get to work with her more. We just had this magical mixture of human beings from cast to crew and so you can't go wrong. Anybody they match you up with would be a joy and a pleasure.
The Flight Attendant, Season 1, Streaming Now, HBO Max
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Gonzaga still No. 1, while Duke falls out of USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
Eddie Timanus
Gonzaga will enter the 2021 portion of the season with the No. 1 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll. The Zags closed out another impressive week with a blowout of Virginia and easily retain the top position with 29 of 32 first-place votes.
Baylor remains No. 2, claiming the other three first-place selections. Villanova, Kansas and Houston round out the top five with the Cougars rising two places to join the group.
Tennessee moves up to No. 6, with a key SEC showdown with No. 12 Missouri slated for Wednesday. West Virginia slips two places to No. 8 after a loss to Kansas.
It was the Big Ten’s busy week, however, that caused the most shifting in the poll. Wisconsin now heads the group at No. 7. Iowa falls six places to No. 11 after an overtime loss to Minnesota, which enters the poll in a tie for 24th with Virginia. The Cavaliers had the biggest fall among the Top 25, falling nine places.
TOP 25:Complete USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
Michigan State, which fell to 0-2 in the conference, takes a seven-position drop to No. 18. Northwestern, among the season’s biggest early surprises, debuts at No. 22, the first Top 25 appearance for the Wildcats since the preseason poll in 2017.Also rejoining the poll this week is No. 23 San Diego State.
North Carolina is out after a loss to rival North Carolina State. Duke will also close the year unranked, the first poll since February of 2016 without the Blue Devils. Richmond is the week’s other dropout.
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About USGS
Can the USGS do a survey or study of my private property?
No. The USGS Organic Act (43 U.S. Code § 31) prohibits the USGS from making surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations. On rare occasion, however, the USGS might request access to private property as part of a larger study.
If you need to engage a professional land surveyor, hydrologist, geologist, or geotechnical engineer, the following organizations should be able to identify professionals in your area who have the expertise that you need:
Your State Geological Survey (the best starting point)
National Society of Professional Surveyors
American Institute of Hydrology
American Institute of Professional Geologists
American Society of Civil Engineers or Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists
Learn more: Are there geologic maps or publications for where I live?
What does the USGS (United States Geological Survey) do?
The USGS (United States Geological Survey) is a science bureau within the United States Department of the Interior . The USGS provides science about the natural hazards that threaten lives and livelihoods; the water, energy, minerals, and other natural resources we rely on; the health of our ecosystems and environment; and the impacts of climate...
Can you identify my rock or mineral?
Rocks and minerals are extremely difficult to identify through photographs. You will get the best results by taking your rock or mineral to a local source where it can be handled and examined closely. Possibilities include: Your state geological survey A natural science museum A college or university with a geology department A rockshop Members of...
How do I find, download, or order topographic maps?
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been the primary civilian mapping agency of the United States since 1879. The best known USGS maps are the 1:24,000-scale topographic maps, also known as 7.5-minute quadrangles. Download all dates and scales of USGS topographic maps free of charge from the following applications or order paper copies of all...
How do I suggest a research project for the USGS?
Unsolicited proposals for both research and research-related awards are a valuable means for the USGS to obtain innovative methods or approaches from outside the government to accomplish our mission. In order to be considered, proposals must: Be innovative and unique Be independently derived and developed (prepared without government supervision)...
What is the USGS policy about coming onto private property to conduct research?
When conducting research on private property, United States Geological Survey (USGS) employees must comply with State and Tribal laws, including trespassing and privacy laws. USGS employees are required to obtain written permission from the landowner when conducting new research and must make the data available at the landowner's request.
Will I be able to see my house in an aerial photograph? Will enlarging the image let me see more detail?
The ability to see specific items in an aerial image is mostly a function of scale and resolution. The following aerial photography products all have a resolution of 1 meter or better, so you should be able to see an object the size of a house: High Resolution Orthoimagery (HRO) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery Digital...
How will my house hold up in an earthquake? Can the USGS send someone out to evaluate my property?
Published maps will only provide generalized, uninterpreted information about specific areas. Every property consists of a unique combination of geologic and structural factors that must be considered to determine what might happen to a house during an earthquake. Therefore, an individual site study is necessary. Geologic factors include: type of...
What are the earthquake hazards/risks where I live?
Determining your risk with regard to earthquakes, or more precisely shaking from earthquakes, isn't as simple as finding the nearest fault. The chances of experiencing shaking from an earthquake and/or having property damage is dependent on many different factors. The National Hazard Maps use all available data to estimate the chances of shaking (...
How do I get USGS data?
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides data on many different science topics. Most of it can be downloaded for free from our website. Our Science Data Catalog is a good starting point. Also try using your browser's search engine and including the keyword "usgs.gov". If you are looking for a particular data set and cannot find it...
How do I contact the USGS?
For general inquiries, call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747). You can also use this website to send us a message or to initiate a live Web chat with a USGS Science Information Specialist. Most of our employees are listed in our online Staff Profiles . USGS offices are located in every state. Please note, however, that most of them perform very...
Under what circumstances do U.S. Geological Survey landslide personnel conduct field work in landslide-prone areas?
USGS landslide researchers have ongoing field projects in several areas of the United States, including parts of the Pacific coastal ranges, Rocky Mountains, and the Appalachians. USGS scientists also respond to major landslide events, including some that result in federally-declared disasters. In some cases, USGS scientists respond to landslides...
Are there geologic maps or publications for where I live?
Detailed geologic mapping has not been completed for the entire United States, but maps are available for most locations. Geologic maps at many scales and from many sources are listed in the National Geologic Map Database . Some geologic maps can be purchased in hard copy through the USGS Store . Download digital geologic maps for entire states...
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Examining sediment core
Attribution: Water Resources, National Water Quality Program, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
resource exploration
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[Maple Leaf Cafe]
The Growth of 'Maple Leaf'...
Adelaide, Ellis Limited, [1924].
240 × 153 mm, [16] pages with illustrations and 8 tipped-in colour plates.
Overlapping colour-pictorial gate-fold card covers, with panoramas of 'Early Adelaide' and 'Modern Adelaide' front and rear (and with line illustrations of the site of the cafe then-and-now inside the respective covers); covers lightly rubbed and bumped at the extremities, with surface loss to a tiny area of the front cover; bottom half of the front gate-fold hinge split but now expertly closed; an excellent copy of a lavish brochure.
'The Ellis Cafe organisation was formed about 1917 as bakers, pastry cooks, caterers, fruiterers and confectioners. The office and factory was at 120 Gouger Street, Adelaide, with a restaurant Covent Gardens at 50 (later 68) King William Street, the Arcadia Cafe in Bowman's Buildings, King William Street, the Maple Leaf Cafe at 21 Rundle Street and two others in the central business district.... The Ellis Cafes ceased trading in 1952' (State Library of South Australia, B 72464/5). This attractive souvenir was prepared to celebrate the reopening of the cafe in late 1924 after extensive renovations. An article in the Adelaide 'News' of Saturday 20 December 1924 notes that the 'booklet is a triumph for its compilers and its illustrator, Mr E. Grant Walsh, who also designed the general scheme of furnishings and decorations'.
See all items in Australia, Food and Wine, South Australia, Trade Catalogues
See all items by Maple Leaf Cafe
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a screen shows the landed Chang'e-5 spacecraft and a moon surface picture, below, taken by camera aboard Chang'e-5 spacecraft during its landing process, at Beijing Aerospace Control Center today in Beijing. A Chinese spacecraft landed on the moon today to bring back lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government announced. (Jin Liwang/Xinhua via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spacecraft landed on the moon to bring back lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government announced.
The China National Space Administration said Chang’e 5 “successfully landed” at its designated site shortly after 11 p.m. (1500 GMT) today after making a powered descent from its orbiter. It published images of the barren scene at the landing site, including where the lander’s shadow can be seen.
The lander was launched Nov. 24 from the tropical southern island of Hainan. It is the latest venture by a Chinese space program that sent its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, has a spacecraft en route to Mars and aims eventually to land a human on the moon.
Plans call for the lander to spend about two days drilling into the lunar surface and collecting 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks and debris. The sample will be lifted up into orbit and transferred to a return capsule for the trip to Earth, setting down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia around the middle of the month.
If it succeeds, it will be the first time scientists have obtained fresh samples of lunar rocks since a Soviet probe in the 1970s. Those samples are expected to be made available to scientists from other nations, although its unclear how much access NASA will have, given tight U.S. government restrictions on space cooperation with China.
From the rocks and debris, scientists hope to learn more about the moon, including its precise age, as well as increased knowledge about other bodies in our solar system. Collecting samples, including from asteroids, is an increasing focus of many space programs and China’s mastery of the technology once again places it among the leading nations operating in space.
U.S. astronauts with NASA’s Apollo space program brought back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar samples from 1969 to 1972, some of which is still being analyzed and experimented on.
The Chang’e 5 flight is China’s third successful lunar landing. Its predecessor, Chang’e 4, was the first probe to land on the moon’s little-explored far side. Chinese space program officials have said they envision future crewed missions along with robotic ones, including possibly building some sort of permanent space base for conducting research. No timeline or other details have been announced.
The latest flight includes collaboration with the European Space Agency, which is helping to monitor the mission.
China’s space program has proceeded more cautiously than the U.S.-Soviet space race of the 1960s, which was marked by fatalities and launch failures.
In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the Soviet Union and the United States. It also launched a crewed space station.
China, along with neighbors Japan and India, also has joined the growing race to explore Mars. The Tianwen 1 probe launched in July is on its way to the red planet carrying a lander and a rover to search for water.
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Summer in Australia: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
Australia & New Zealand Australia
Larry Rivera
Larry Rivera is a Sydney-based writer, journalist, and editor who has covered the city and its surroundings since 1997.
Summer in Australia is generally a season of fun, sun, and festive times. It begins on Dec. 1 and continues until the end of February due to Australia being in the southern hemisphere. For those visiting Australia from northern hemisphere countries such as the United States, Canada, England, and the northern countries of Asia and Europe, the Australian summer almost exactly coincides with the northern winter. So northern travelers should keep in mind that they are journeying from winter to summer and should accordingly pack for the season.
Beachtime in Australia
For a country enamored of sun, sand, sea, and surf, summer is the peak of the beach season. Many of Australia's most popular destinations are on the coast or on islands off the coast and beaches are not only numerous but also within easy reach by car or public transport. If you have oceanfront accommodation, you can of course simply step out to the sand.
Sydney, for instance, has numerous beaches around Sydney Harbor and all along the coast, from Palm Beach in the north to the Cronulla beaches in the south. Melbourne, not quite as famous as Sydney for beaches, has a number of beaches close to the city center. You can also drive out to the beaches of Mornington Peninsula just south of the city or to the many other seaside areas of Victoria.
Queensland has a large number of holiday islands, particularly on and along the Great Barrier Reef. In South Australia, consider crossing over to Kangaroo Island and in Western Australia to Rottnest Island.
Australia Weather in the Summer
While there is a wide temperature range within the continent itself, summer is generally how it is perceived to be: warm and sunny. In Sydney, for instance, the average midsummer temperature can range from around 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius) at night to 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) in the daytime. It is possible for temperatures to rise above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius).
Bear in mind that it gets warmer as you travel north and cooler as you travel south. In northernmost tropical Australia, the seasons are more appropriately divided into the dry and the wet, with the Australian summer falling within the north's wet season, which begins around October and November and continues through Australia's summer months.
The wet season in the north can also see incidences of tropical cyclones in varying degrees of intensity. In the south, the summer temperatures can cause the flare-up of bushfires. While the incidence of cyclones and bushfires can cause serious destruction, generally travel to Australia is not critically affected by these forces of nature which, more often than not, occur in unpopulated areas.
As is typical for summer weather, you'll want to bring breezy cotton clothes as well as light outfits such as dresses, shorts, T-shirts, and skirts. You may want to bring a cardigan or jean jacket for the evenings when it gets a bit chillier after the sun goes down. While swimsuits and flip flops (called thongs in Australia) are appropriate for the beach, you'll want to bring a cover-up and nicer sandals for the restaurants and shops.
Summer Events and Festivals in Australia
There are a number of major events and festivals in the Australian summer.
Australia's national public holidays in December are Christmas Day and Boxing Day; and on Jan. 26, Australia Day. Note: When a public holiday falls on a weekend, the following workday becomes a public holiday and businesses tend to close.
The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts on Sydney Harbor in late December with around 100 boats of different sizes competing for line and handicap honors.
The Sydney Festival celebrates a broad spectrum of the performing and visual arts. It is usually held around the second week of January until the weekend after Australia Day.
The Australian Open, the first of the world's Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the calendar year, takes place in Melbourne starting around the middle of January.
The Tamworth Country Music Festival normally takes place in late January around Australia Day. A highlight of the festival is the annual country music awards.
The Sydney Chinese New Year Festival is arguably the largest and most popular Chinese New Year festival in Australia. It includes lantern parades, food markets, dragon boat races, and music and dance events.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a major multi-week event, culminating in a glittering nighttime parade. The festival begins in February.
What to Expect from Melbourne's Weather
February in Australia: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
December in Australia: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
The Weather and Climate in New Zealand
The Best Time to Visit Brisbane
Weather and Climate in Sydney
January in Australia: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
The Weather and Climate in Tanzania
October in Australia: Weather and Event Guide
July in Australia: Weather and Event Guide
The Best Time to Visit the Northern Territory
The Weather and Climate in Sao Paulo
What Is Australia Like in June?
How to Visit Sydney During the Summer
Your Month-to-Month Guide to Australia: Weather, Events, & Holidays
May in Australia: Weather, What to Pack, and What to See
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A Travel Guide for Visiting Graceland on a Budget
United States Tennessee
Mark Kahler
Mark Kahler is a budget travel expert and writer with more than 30 years' experience.
Taylor McIntyre/TripSavvy
Graceland, the legendary home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee, is viewed by some as a solemn experience, while others are motivated by amusement or curiosity. Whatever your reason for visiting, no one can deny that a stopover is a unique experience that attracts people from around the world. Fortunately, a value-packed Graceland tour can be done with some advance planning.
TripSavvy / Tim Liedtke
Admission Costs
Knowing what you'd like to see at Graceland can help you save money on tickets. Different tour packages cater to different visitors, from the history buff who's a casual Elvis admirer to the full-blown Elvis fanatic.
Basic admission (starting at $41) covers the Mansion Only Tour, which is audio-guided. The Elvis Experience Tour includes exhibits of his wardrobe, automobiles, gold records, and other features. An Elvis Entourage VIP ticket adds front-of-the-line admission privileges and access to the Elvis Presley's Memphis Entertainment Complex museums and exhibits. An airplanes tour can be added on to those three ticket options for an additional cost. The most extensive and pricey selection is the Ultimate VIP tour, which includes everything the other tours offer plus a meal voucher, access to the Ultimate Lounge, a Graceland archives session, and more.
Children under 6 are free on all tours except for the Ultimate VIP Tour, though that has no charge for kids under age 2. Although there's a small fee, online orders could spare you long waits in line, allowing you to pick up tickets at will-call and be ready for your Graceland experience.
A few tricks can help you save at Graceland, whether you are in Memphis just for Elvis or simply want to stop by and pay your respects.
If Graceland is your main focus, you might want to consider becoming a member, which can help you cut back on costs if you are a frequent visitor.
If you'd like to visit the graves of Elvis and his family, walk up to the Meditation Garden at Graceland for free between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. (except for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). And you can always pull off Elvis Presley Boulevard and take a selfie outside the famous mansion.
Big Elvis fans will come here just for Graceland, but for most people, it is a half-day adventure at best. Regardless, look at some of the other attractions in the area and make your trip to the city memorable. One good stop is to Sun Records, where Elvis cut his first demo record. According to legend, they asked Elvis which artist he sounded like, and he answered: "I don't sound like nobody." Soon enough, they discovered a new sound that swept the nation at this unassuming Sun Studio at 706 Union Ave.
See more Memphis music highlights using the free hourly shuttle running daily on a first come first served basis. The shuttle travels between Graceland, Heartbreak Hotel across the street, Sun Studio, and Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. If you stay downtown, you can start out at Memphis Rock 'n' Soul and visit both Sun Studios and Graceland without spending on gas or parking.
Rock 'n' Soul also offers a discount on a Backstage Pass, which includes admissions to Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax Museum, and the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum.
The peak time for visitors is the annual Elvis Week in early- to mid-August when there are scores of special events such as concerts, movie screenings, and an Elvis Expo (off-property in downtown Memphis) of memorabilia. Reservations during this time are highly recommended, as individual events sell out months in advance.
For less stress and more value, go on a weekday and avoid times when school is not in session. The two busiest times are the August "Elvis Week" and January 8, which was Elvis' birthday.
As you search for flights and Memphis hotel rooms, consider Graceland's location only 4 miles from Memphis International Airport (MEM). Although it's close to the airport, don't try to see the mansion on a layover. Traffic can be intense and waits at Graceland are often long. Security lines at MEM can become busy when travelers on business or holiday trips show up at the airport. Cabs are available to and from the airport.
Staying at The Guest House at Graceland is one option with discounts including admission to Graceland, seeing landmarks, and other Elvis-related events. Also, the Graceland RV Park and Campground is a less-expensive way to camp out within walking distance to Graceland and enjoy bike trails.
Hotels in the area around Graceland can be run-down or expensive. But the proximity to I-55 means you can reach a bargain room in another part of the city fairly quickly (unless it's rush hour). Some chain offerings are good values in the Bartlett area and just across the state line in Mississippi.
The mansion and the visitor pavilion/parking complex sit on opposite sides of Elvis Presley Boulevard. Transportation across the street to the grounds and a headset enabling a self-guided tour of the property are included in the admission fee. The additional options available with the higher-priced tickets are on the pavilion-side of the boulevard: the jumpsuit, automobile, and airplane exhibits. You will be reminded at every turn that security cameras are watching you and that indoor flash photography is prohibited. The second floor of the mansion is off-limits; these rooms were Elvis' private quarters.
This is not the most elegant nor largest mansion you will ever see. You may be struck by the relative simplicity of Elvis' life, given his status as a world celebrity. Check out the "Jungle Room," furnished with outlandish carpeting, furniture, and kitsch, and the simple swing set he set up for his daughter Lisa Marie in the backyard. Everything here was left largely the way it looked at the time of Elvis' death in 1977.
Hours of operation vary by season, with longer hours during the summer months. It's possible to rent sections of the facility for private parties, and some people even get married here.
Cyrille Gibot / Getty Images
Elsewhere in Memphis
Memphis is known for more than Graceland. If you are staying downtown and using the free shuttle between Graceland and other attractions, you can maximize your time and money and have some other worthwhile visits. Highly recommended: the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site of the former Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
A lesser-known but fascinating attraction is a five-block-long scale model of the lower Mississippi River at Mud Island River Park, which is connected to downtown by a sky bridge. Anyone with a love of travel or geography will enjoy this site.
Downtown Memphis is home to Beale Street, which bills itself as the "home of blues and the birthplace of rock n' roll" and has two blocks of places to enjoy Memphis barbecue or live music.
Your Trip to Memphis: The Complete Guide
Top 10 Memphis Sights and Attractions for Couples
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Elvis Presley's Home
The Story Behind Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" Hit Song
20 Top Things to Do in Memphis
The 10 Best Museums to Visit in Memphis
Top Places to Spot Elvis
Rock 'N' Soul Museum in Memphis: The Complete Guide
Here’s How to Visit Memphis in Style and on Budget
10 Things To Do In Memphis (For $10 Or Less!)
Best Things to Do in Memphis for Free
The 8 Best Memphis Tours of 2021
Terrific Kids' Activities in Memphis, Tennessee
The 12 Best Things to Do in Midtown Memphis
A Guide to the Gay Scene in Memphis, Plus Events and Festivals
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Guillaume Van der Loo
Guillaume Van der Loo https://www.ugent.be/re/epir/en/researchgroups/european-law/department/staff/guillaumevanderloo https://www.ugent.be/logo.png
Guillaume Van der Loo is Visiting Professor at the Ghent European Law Institute where he teaches EU Trade Law.
He is also a research fellow at the European Policy Centre (Brussels) and Egmont – the Royal Institute for International Relations. He obtained a PhD in Law (2014, Ghent University) on the EU’s new generation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas concluded with the EU’s neighbouring countries. He was also a researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) (2015-2020) and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (2018-2019). His research and publications focus on the law and policy of the EU’s external and trade relations, with a particular focus on the new generation of EU trade and investment agreements, EU trade policy, EU external competences and EU neighbourhood relations. Guillaume has contributed to several international research projects funded by different EU institutions and member states. He has also advised several governments and national and EU institutions on EU trade/external relations affairs and has commentated widely on these topics in the media.
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The Buildings and Estates Department is responsible for the collection and disposal of waste generated on campus
The University of Limerick sits on a 149 hectare (368 acres) campus comprising 50 hectares (123 acres) on
In the event of an emergency please dial extension 3333 (internally) or 061-213333.
Click here for Porter Sevices
Minor Works is a term used to describe changes, upgrades, additions, alterations to buildings and infrastructure
Maintenance refers to upkeep of the UL environment and infrastructure - buildings and grounds
The University Campus extends to over 149 hectares (368 acres) with a total built space of 257,870 square metres (2.78 million square feet) across 45 buildings
The Travel Policy arranged by the University provides cover in respect of trips approved by the University
The Buildings and Estates Department plays a key role in ensuring the Health and Safety of the Campus Community
All goods purchased on behalf of the University of Limerick are channelled in through Goods Receiving
The Buildings and Estates Department has the responsibility of cleaning the University's didactic
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Dream Movies Xxx Review
We can’t get enough of Dream Movies Xxx, the hilarious and very dirty animated series, which has now turned into a movie starring Brooke Shields and Johnny Knoxville. Watching this movie is like watching a series of cartoons that’s as good as the comic books, and the sex scenes are more than anything you can get from a porno movie.
Johnny Knoxville is played by John Savage, a little-known actor who has been doing pornographic movies for years. Now, he’s finally making his mark in the movies and having some fun. He’s also starring as himself in this movie and is having a blast.
The way the movie begins is a nice set up for the next few episodes that will follow. The story is so well written that it makes you forget that it’s a story, it’s actually animated films that you want to see more of.
The lead actress, Brooke Shields, is great as the main character at first. She’s the perfect anti-heroine, with no redeeming traits whatsoever. Her on-screen boyfriend and her boyfriend’s friend are even worse.
Once they find out she’s a “lady”, they go for broke and have fun. In fact, they’re so drunk that they are having sexual intercourse when their car is hit by a truck. They are found out, and when a taxi driver recognizes them, they’re taken to jail where Johnny is arrested.
There, Johnny is put into a situation where he is forced to show his true character, which leads to him becoming the friend of a criminal. He’s also made to do things that he didn’t want to do. Eventually, Johnny’s girlfriend tells him about how he messed up her dog, and she takes the blame for it all.
There is lots of dirty talk throughout Dream Movies Xxx, and it’s extremely dirty. A lot of the dialogue is rude, but at the same time the actors do a great job. The writing really captures the feeling of the characters, and they are all different in how they act.
While we all love sex and violence, there’s nothing like a Jesus Christ reference, and these scenes bring about some interesting discussions between the characters. It’s really funny how everything works together, and you’re always wondering if there’s going to be a fight to be made.
I’ll tell you what I didn’t like about the movie, and that was how many of the bad guys went on a murderous rampage. It was very unnecessary, and it really got old after a while. The bad guys were supposed to be bad guys, but they were often in the wrong and seemed to just be trying to make a quick buck at someone’s expense.
Brooke Shields was fine as a main character, but when it came to the villains, it was a problem. There were some times when I thought it was a little ridiculous how the movie was going about the storyline, and I don’t know if it was the writers, the actors, or the director that was too enthusiastic about it. I don’t want to say that it was a bad movie, but it was not nearly as good as I was hoping for.
Johnny Knoxville did a great job as the director, but he’s not a comedic actor. And although the actors do a great job, I don’t think they were meant to be in the role of the main characters.
The thing that gets us moviegoers going is the way the story lines are set up. It’s like if people told you that you were in a fight in a mall, and that it was just a matter of time before someone was killed. Well, you would be drooling, too.
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Children and teachers killed in Idlib school and kindergarten attacks ahead of UNICEF Executive Dire
Children and teachers killed in Idlib school and kindergarten attacks ahead of UNICEF Executive Director’s briefing to UN Security Council
UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, has addressed the UN Security Council on the urgent dangers facing over half a million children who have been displaced amidst worsening violence and conditions in Northwest Syria. “2020 is barely two months old. And according to OHCHR — some 300 people have been killed in Idlib and Aleppo since the start of the year. The situation is worsening by the day.”
“The escalation of fighting in the northwest since December has pushed over 900,000 people — including over half a million children — away from their homes and into danger… Tens of thousands are now living in makeshift tents, public buildings and in the open air, huddled under trees — exposed to rain, snow and the sub-zero cold of a harsh Syrian winter.”
“We’ve heard and read reports of children freezing to death. When wood runs out, families burn whatever they can find — plastic bags, garbage, discarded furniture — just to provide a flicker of heat against the cold, or a simple fire to cook whatever food they can find.”
The speech follows the news on 26 February 2020 that 10 Syrian schools and kindergartens had been attacked, killing at least nine children.
“Once again we are shocked at a wave of unrelenting violence that saw at least nine children and three teachers killed as 10 schools and kindergartens came under attack yesterday in Idlib, in the northwest of Syria” said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “At least four of the schools were supported by UNICEF’s partners. There are reports that as many as 40 women and children were injured in these attacks.” “We strongly condemn the killing and maiming of children. Schools and other education facilities are a sanctuary for children. Attacking them is a grave violation of children’s rights.”
The UN Security Council heard of the horrific impacts of the worsening violence, including the following statistics summarised by Henrietta Fore in her speech:
In the northwest, 280,000 children have had their education cruelly snatched away. And an estimated 180 schools are out of operation — destroyed, damaged or being used for shelters.
72 hospitals have suspended services because of the fighting.
6.5 million Syrians are going hungry every day because of food insecurity. The price of essential food items has risen 20 times since the war began.
Over half of all health facilities, and three out of 10 schools, are non-functional.
In 2018, over 1,100 children were killed in the fighting — the highest number of children killed in a single year since the start of the war. Last year was scarcely better — about 900 were killed and hundreds maimed.
11 million people across Syria who still require urgent humanitarian assistance. Almost half are children.
Girls as young as nine have been raped. And one in four children is at risk of severe mental disorders.
Almost a decade of war has forced nearly half of the country’s population from their homes.
In the speech, she highlighted the incredible efforts and help being provided by UNICEF, its sister agencies and partners, but stressed more funding was needed as well as commitment from all parties across Syria to protect innocent children.
Amongst the highlights of UNICEF’s humanitarian aid in the past year were the screening of 1.8 million mothers and children for malnutrition, health consultations for over 2 million people, water and sanitation services for over 7.4 million people, psychosocial counselling for almost 400,000 women and children, winter clothing and blankets for over 37,000 children, vaccinations for nearly 600,000 children under the age of one and helping 1.8 million children continue their education.
“A child born at the start of this war is now nine years old. Are we forced to admit to her that peace is beyond our grasp? That we are unable, or unwilling, to stop this destructive war?
Next year, we will mark the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict — an anniversary none of us wants to see.”
Video footage of the Security Council Briefing will be available here: https://www.unmultimedia.org/avlibrary/search/search.jsp?sort=cdate_desc&category=SECURITY+COUNCIL+MEETING&
Juliette Touma, UNICEF Regional Office, [email protected], +962-79-867-4628
Salam Al-Janabi, UNICEF Syria, [email protected], +963 950044371
Joe English, UNICEF New York, [email protected], +1 917 893 0692
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
For more information about UNICEF and our work for children in the Middle East, visit www.unicef.org/mena
Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram
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Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2008 International Launch
A contemporary expression of Nature.
On April 12th, Veuve Clicquot launched its latest creation, the first Vintage by the hand of Cellar Master Dominique Demarville. At the Clos des Lambrays, in the heart of Burgundy, home of wood barrel vinification and Pinot Noir.
The event, attended by 20 leading worldwide journalists - revolving around wood, time and celebrating both Champagne & Burgundy terroirs - invited the participants to take the time to discover Veuve Clicquot’s latest Vintage.
For the first time since the House turned to all stainless steel ageing in the 1960s, Dominique Demarville has reclaimed the use of oak to age a small portion of the wine from the 2008 harvest.He explains his flash of insight: “When I arrived at Veuve Clicquot in 2006, I was impressed by the intense and powerful Vintage wines, all of them expressions of exceptional harvests,” he says. “But I wondered, how can we go further and give our Vintages even more dimension? A Vintage is a blend based on a single crop, so we cannot add the spicy notes represented by our old reserve wines like we can for Yellow Label,” he notes.
“I remembered that one of my predecessors at Veuve Clicquot, Charles Delahaye, blended with oak aged wines until the 1960’s, when the House moved to using stainless steel. The stainless steel allowed for greater clarity in the wine, but he always remembered the age of oak, and how it gave a certain roundness of flavor due to the micro-oxygenation of the juice in contact with another living, organic substance.”
Demarville was inspired by the quest for innovation that has been at the heart of the House since Madame Clicquot herself created the first ever Vintage wine of Champagne. “The idea came to me to experiment with this complex substance again,” he recalls.
Demarville did not turn to oak as a way to look back to the past, but to reclaim its power to invoke complexity in a subtle, and thoroughly contemporary way.
“Thanks to the addition of just 5% of oak-aged wines into the 2008 assemblage, the wine has extra breadth and complexity—all without affecting the House style,” Demarville notes. “In the same manner that chefs in a kitchen will use a pinch of spice to season a dish, this small addition of oak aging creates the ‘spice effect’ that we are constantly looking for at Veuve Clicquot.”
BEYOND - The Veuve Clicquot Journey by Fabrica This year celebrates the 200th Anniversary of one of Madame Clicquot’s most lasting inventions, the Riddling Table. On this occasion, the Maison’s innovative spirit was honored during the 2016 Milan Design Week with BEYOND – an exhibition in collaboration with the prestigious Fabrica Art Academy & Research Center.
Veuve Clicquot & Ferrari Lifestyle Partnership Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is announced as the first “lifestyle partner” of Ferrari
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Village Christian Names Douglas Berry New High School Principal
Village Christian School Apr 13, 2018
Sun Valley, Calif. – Village Christian School is proud to announce Douglas Berry as its new High School Principal for the 2018-2019 school year.
Berry is a longtime senior administrator in the Pasadena, Burbank, and San Marino Unified School Districts and begins at VCS full-time July 1, 2018.
“I consider myself richly blessed and honored to be selected as the next principal of Village Christian High School,” said Berry, who holds a Masters in Educational Leadership. “I can't wait to spend time on campus to meet students, parents, teachers, counselors, staff, coaches, and the administrative team to begin the process of capturing the culture and mission of Village Christian High School.”
Most recently serving at San Marino High School, Berry’s experience ranges from managing faculty and staff, guiding schools through accreditation, creating intervention and disciplinary programs, facilitating and designing professional development programs, and developing UC-approved AP and Honors Courses.
His efforts helped SMHS earn a U.S. News and World Report Gold Medal/Best High School designation as well as a prestigious California School Boards Association-sponsored Golden Bell Award in 2017 for a new Humanities Seminar program developed in partnership with the Huntington Library.
“We stand in awe of God’s providence in moving in Mr. Berry’s heart to leave one of the top high schools in California to come and lead our high school,” said VCS Head of School Tom Konjoyan. “The experience, faith, and heart he will bring to our students, faculty, and parents will bolster our school’s mission to help students thrive.”
Berry will build on the legacy of retiring principal Bruce Osgood, who has served VCS in Middle and High School since 2011. Osgood’s incredible impact on our students, teachers, staff, and community at large will have a lasting effect, and we thank him for his love and passion for education and helping students discover their value in Christ.
Berry and Osgood worked together at Burbank High School from 2003 to 2011.
“Being named the new principal is an answer to many prayers, and I believe it is the next step in God's plan for my life,” Berry said. “During my professional career, I have always tried to keep an ‘Open Door Policy’ to be accessible and supportive whenever possible. So, if my door is open, feel free stop in.”
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The Mexican Food at New Mex Deli Makes the Hike Worth It
Photos by Scarlett Lindeman for the Village Voice
New Mex Deli (5914 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn; 718-492-7492) is a long walk from Sunset Park — it’s at the southern end of the neighborhood and across from the imposing Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; it’s close enough to Bay Ridge that you can catch a glimpse of Staten Island on the horizon. It inhabits a space slimmer than most Manhattan studio apartments, and it is not a deli per se, just a counter, a griddle, a mostly empty refrigerator case, and three small tables. That griddle, a searing plancha seasoned by years of oil-crisped antojitos, takes up significant square footage of the floor plan but harnesses the magic of A36 steel to send glorious things off its hot surface.
The recently expanded menu includes tortas ($6.25), cemitas ($7), tostadas ($3), burritos ($7), and larger plates ($10) served with beans, rice, and tortillas. The former menu was a piece of paper taped to the wall, on which sincronizadas and quesadillas were denoted in black Sharpie; the tacos went without saying.
The quesadillas ($4.50) continue to be distinctive — the masa is pressed to order, and the dough is transformed by the plancha into a tender, golden casing for truly spicy chicken tinga, petals of squash blossoms, and gooey strands of bone-white Oaxacan cheese. Each quesadilla, stippled with char and releasing plumes of corn-scented steam, is as individual as a snowflake.
There is also a luminous pambazo ($6.25) the chile-dipped potato-chorizo sandwiches that have been popular in Mexico for some time and have been growing in popularity in our country. On the menu, the sandwich is printed as “estilo D.F.,” which in actuality refers not to the style of the pambazo but to the provenance of the owner, who is from the Distrito Federal of the country’s capital. The bread is a cheap, cottony roll dunked in a thickish chile sauce, and it matches crumbles of potato, chorizo, and shredded lettuce showered with dry cheese. The sauce is made with enough blended tomatoes and garlic that it would taste like an Italian-American hoagie if it weren’t for the burning heat that reverberates on the lips like the church bells ringing across the street do in your ears.
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44 more virus deaths confirmed at city hospitals over Christmas
A further 44 Coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed at Leicester’s hospitals over the Christmas week.
The numbers include those who have died at either the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and General Hospital after testing positive.
The fatalities, announced today, were patients aged between their 50s and their 90s.
Today’s confirmation means that 748 patients have now died on city hospital wards after a Covid diagnosis.
A University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) said: “Sadly, we can confirm that 748 patients being cared for at our hospitals, and who had tested positive for COVID-19, have died.
“44 of those deaths have been announced since last Wednesday (23 December). The ages of the patients ranged between those in their 50s to those in their 90s.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of the patients at this very difficult and distressing time.”
The youngest person to die with Covid at the city’s hospitals so far was in their 20s.
That death occurred earlier in the pandemic.
A patient in their 100s is the oldest to have died with the virus while being treated on a city hospital ward.
Last week, 31 deaths were confirmed by the trust. The week before, 41 deaths were announced.
It has been confirmed Leicester and Leicestershire will move into Tier 4 restrictions from midnight in an attempt to reduce infection rates and take pressure of the NHS which is struggling with the impact of extra patients.
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See photos of Mike Tyson
Facts about Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson is 54 years old
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Best known as: "Iron Mike," the controversial boxing champ of the 1980s
The Guardian: Mike Tyson
Nifty archive of Mike Tyson news articles, old and new
Joyce Carol Oates on Mike Tyson
Oates ruminates on Tyson's life while reviewing a book about him
Mike Tyson Career Timeline
A big listing of all his hits (and misses)
The Ups and Downs of Tyson's Life
1998 BBC feature recaps his victories, marriages, jail time, etc.
Mike Tyson Biography
Mike Tyson is one of the most successful and notorious boxers in prizefighting history thanks to his actions inside and outside the ring.
His speed, power and fierce aggression earned him the World Boxing Council heavyweight title in 1986, when he beat Trevor Berbick with a second-round TKO. Tyson was 20, making him the youngest heavyweight champion ever. The next year he beat James Smith to win the World Boxing Association title. Dubbed “Iron Mike” for his muscular physique and aggressive fighting style, Tyson became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
In 1988, in one of his most famous fights, Tyson knocked out previously undefeated Michael Spinks in 91 seconds and earned $20 million. For a brief time he seemed invincible, until he was knocked out by the lightly-regarded James “Buster” Douglas in 1990.
Then Mike Tyson began making headlines for different reasons: his brief marriage to actress Robin Givens was followed by a bitter divorce battle; he was convicted of rape in 1992 and spent three years in prison; a comeback was stymied in 1997 when he bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the middle of a match; he was jailed briefly again in 1999 for assault; and at a 2002 press conference to announce an upcoming bout, he attacked opponent Lennox Lewis and bit his leg. (The fight took place anyway on June 8, 2002, and Lewis knocked out Tyson in the eighth round.)
Mike Tyson’s fans considered him a troubled youth who battled long odds to become one the sport’s greatest names; his detractors said his behavior gave the sport a black eye. Tyson’s fight career never quite recovered after his stint in jail; his last fight was a loss to journeyman heavyweight Kevin McBride by a 7th-round technical knockout on June 11, 2005.
Since then, Mike Tyson has returned to the public eye now and then. He had a prominent and funny cameo in the comedy The Hangover (2009, with Bradley Cooper), and created the Tyson Cares Foundation to help kids from broken homes. He also founded the boxing company Iron Mike Promotions. He published the memoirs Undisputed Truth (in 2013) and Iron Ambition (in 2017).
Mike Tyson is famous for his many tattoos, which include images of Arthur Ashe (left bicep), Mao Zedong (right bicep), Che Guevara (abdomen), and a tribal-type tattoo around his right eye and cheekbone… Mike Tyson reportedly earned over $400 million in his career, yet was $34 million in debt before his 2005 fight with Kevin McBride, for which he was paid $5 million vs. McBride’s $150,000… On December 29, 2006 Tyson was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona and charged with driving while intoxicated. The next year he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and possession of cocaine, and was sentenced to 24 hours in jail and three years of probation, plus community service… The boxer Drederick Tatum on the TV show The Simpsons is widely considered to be inspired by Mike Tyson.
Something in Common with Mike Tyson
Boxers born in the United States (9)
Athletes born in New York (19)
Cancer Athletes (23)
Black Boxers
Black Convicts
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The stones of Stonehenge
The bird struts across the henge as if its owns the place. It is quite a sight itself: large, confident, and long extinct. It was re-introduced here a decade ago but is rarely seen. Great bustards are shy, befitting the fact that they look very edible. This one, for a strange reason, had lost its fear of humans and it walks right up to us to have a better look. Its stony-coloured feathers mirror the stones behind it. The unexpected experience complements the historic atmosphere of Stonehenge. The many tourists walk in a large circle around the ancient, famous monument. Only the bustard is allowed inside the walk way. It really does own the stones.
Great Bustard at Stonehenge (July 2019)
After 5000 years, Stonehenge still fascinates. The massive stone ring stands in sharp contrast against the surrounding fields. Over time (lots of it), many of the stones have fallen and what now remains is an irregular echo of the original. Especially the innermost area is a jumble of fallen stones. Obviously, the British of 4000 years ago, just as their modern counterparts, did not believe in either building standards or maintenance. But the many tourists are captivated, pointing out detail to each other in a variety of languages, or posing for a selfie with the ancient stones. The path takes us around the stones but getting in among the stones is only for the privileged few, and strictly outside of normal opening hours. Too many people have tried to carve their initials into the stones: access has had to be limited just for safeguarding. If it has this effect over us, how much more would the visual power have been when the monument was at its prime? Stonehenge always was a magnet for the imagination. The site was never inhabited; instead people lived some miles away. There were no defensive fortifications: it never needed them. Just as China subsumed its invaders, so Stonehenge possessed each new possessor. Even the Romans adopted the site for their rituals.
But Stonehenge was always a work in progress, and was never finished. Generation after generation shaped it according to the new needs and fashion. It started out as a circular bank, which was build between 3000 and 2920 BC and which is still visible in the landscape. The material for the bank was dug out from the chalk underneath. This was a common technique, but normally the ditch was on the inside of the bank. At Stonehenge the ditch where the chalk was dug out was on the outside, an arrangement more commonly found in ancient meeting places or burial grounds. At the time the circle must have gleamed white in the landscape, visible from far away. Even at that time, this was a ceremonial site, not a fortification or habitation. There were circles of wooden poles inside the bank: the holes in the chalk are still there. (Others have suggested that even in the earliest times, the holes were for standing stones rather than wooden poles.)
A major upgrade followed 400 years later, when the inner area of standing stones was added. This included the ring (number 12 on the image below) of 30 standing stones, linked by the cross bars. 17 of these stones remain standing (the rest are fallen, broken, and some are completely missing!), and only 6 of the lintels are still in place. The ring is most complete on the northeast side. On the opposite side there is much less left. That is more than just the workings of time. The stones on the northeast side were well prepared, and the stone surfaces were worked to be flat. Even the lintels were shaped slightly curved, to follow the circle. The stones on the other side are much less regular, and one of the remaining stones here is much smaller than the others, and is too small to have carried a lintel. Perhaps the stones on this side fell more easily because they had not been put up with as much care! The outer ring may not even have been complete.
The care put into the stone work on the northeastern side shows that Stonehenge was build to be viewed from that direction, and in fact the ancient path towards it runs here. This path lines up with the solstice: people walking towards Stonehenge at mid-winter would have seen the sun set directly behind the monument. It works both ways: looking from within the stones along the path, it lines up with the rising sun of the summer solstice. But the asymmetry shows that Stonehenge was first designed for the winter solstice.
Just inside the circle of large stones, a second circle was build (it is number 13 on the drawing). This was made of much smaller stones. The inner circle contained perhaps 60 stones. They were not worked as well, Strangely the workings on two of these stones show that they had been used as lintels at an earlier point in time, but were re-used as standing stones in the circle. Only a few of these stones survive. It seems that originally, they may have been arranged in a double arc, and later (around 2200 BC) were relocated into a complete circle.
More stones were added inside the circle, probably as part of the major development of around 2500 BC. These stones were much taller, and they formed a horseshoe arrangement. The horseshoe consisted of five pairs of stones with a lintel, graded as to their height along the horseshoe (number 14 on the image). Each pair is called a trilithon. Three of these pairs still stand (one of these had fallen but was re-erected in the 1950’s). The largest of the pairs has suffered a collapse where one side and the lintel fell, but the other stone still stands: it is over 7 meters tall. There are axe blade marks on these stones, but this happened 700 years later. The horsehoe must have been erected at the same time or before the outer ring of stones was put up, as the gaps in the ring would be too small for the inner stones to pass through.
Inside this horsehoe was a second horseshoe, or perhaps semi-oval, made of much smaller pillars. As in the trilithons, these stones were graded in height with the tallest on the closed side of the horseshoe. These stones are the most carefully worked of all stones at Stonehenge. They did not have lintels, but it seems some had been attached to lintels before, at another location.
There are other stones at Stonehenge, which are not part of this general structure. One of these is at the centre of the horsehoe, but it is partly buried underneath the fallen stone and lintel of the largest trilithon and can’t be seen from the tourist trail. It is called the altar stone, but this is a made-up name as we have no idea what it was for. It was already lying on the ground when the trilithon fell on it. It may originally have stood upright, as do all other stones, but this is disputed. It was in some ways the centre piece of Stonehenge. The inner faces of the trilithons, facing the altar stone, are finely worked while the outer faces are more rough: this shows the importance of the central area. There are other individual stones scattered around the site, mostly close to the old circular bank: these include the evocatively (but incorrectly) named slaughter stone.
The current placements of the stones date from around 2200 BC. The most recent publications suggest that between 3000BC and 2200 BC there were 5 separate phases of building and rebuilding. After this, the re-workings ceased apart from the addition of two other rings of holes which apparently were never used. Up to that time, each generation left its mark.
An idealized view of Stonehenge is shown in the drawings, which show the closed ring, the five trilithons making up the horsehoe, the ring of smaller stones inside the closed ring and the smaller stones inside the horsehoe (click on the images to view in higher resolution). All these aspects were present, but Stonehenge never looked like this. This always was a building site.
Farmers finally moved in on the surrounding fields; by this time Stonehenge appeared to have fallen out of use. The Romans re-invigorated the site but they too were temporary. The first written descriptions of the ‘doorways’ appeared around 1130 AD. Archaeologist arrived a few hundred years ago and started digging around the site and speculated about how it was build and why. They were followed by the tourists, and finally by the druids, a modern re-invention of a pre-roman cult which had very little to do with Stonehenge. Everyone adopted Stonehenge to their own purposes. It still holds that power over us.
Monuments need maintenance. Since its development ended, Stonehenge has suffered a slow decay. A standing stone can be a liability: it can be prone to toppling. At least two stones have fallen in the past few hundred years. Stones may have disappeared entirely, perhaps use by a local farmer in need of of some stone. There are more holes on the site than there are stones. However, stones may also have occupied more than one hole, so that we don’t know accurately how much has been lost.
The site was last sold in 1915: both the head of the family that owned it and the inheritor had died on the fields of France. A local farmer bought it on impulse, but some years later donated the site to the nation. It earned him a well-deserved knighthood. Nowadays, Stonehenge attract a million visitors per year, each involuntarily donating their 21 pounds to English Heritage. The ticket buys you entrance to a fairly sparse exhibition centre, a model village, a bus to the site itself (or you can walk – it is the same price and you get to see more) – and the most monumental views in the world. Spend 6 pounds more (highly recommended) and you get an excellent booklet about Stonehenge.
Stonehenge is a monumental marvel, and is recognized as a world heritage site. But the stones are themselves also of interest. There are three main types: the chalk of the wall, the sandstone of the large stones, and the bluestone of the smaller stones. The altar stone is a sole example of a fourth type, a greensandstone. All have history that goes far beyond the human presence. One type even holds a volcanic heritage. There is a story here – and it stretches across the most recent supercontinent on Earth.
Stonehenge is build on chalk. Chalk underlies much of southern England, surfacing in various places, most spectacularly on the white cliffs of Dover. On the map below, the surface chalk is shown as lime green, a nominatively suitable colour. Around London a basin formed and here sediment has covered the chalk. Of course Dover is not the termination of the chalk, but is just an interruption. The chalk continues in France.
The Latin word for chalk is creta, and this word gives a clue to its age. Indeed, the local chalk formed in the Cretaceous, 80-100 million years ago, when a tropical sea covered much of Europe. The sea was full of cocoliths, minute marine algae with shells; these shells dropped to the sea floor and formed the chalk. The chalk consists of carbonate, and the whiteness shows that the water was crystal clear. In the chalk one can see thin layers of chert and flint, which are especially clear at Dover. This is quartz. Typically, these layers indicate where a layer of mud had formed. The mud came from organisms in the sea water such as diatoms, which secreted silica, and the silica formed the flints.
The world during the cretaceous
But why was there so much water over Europe? This was a time of high sea level: the sea had come in and covered all of the continental shelf and quite a bit of the coastal areas. Sea level may have been 200 meters higher than now. It was a warm period without sea ice, and the warm water expanded and rose. The sea had become unstoppable. But there was a second reason. This was a time of rifting. The supercontinent of Pangaea was breaking up, and the Atlantic Ocean was forming. The rifts were busily forming new sea floor, and did so at a high rate. But this sea floor consisted of warm rock, replacing the cold ocean crust which was subducting elsewhere to make space for the new crust. Warm rocks expand, are lighter, and float higher. The new sea floor was therefore much less deep than the old crust. The water had nowhere else to go but up.
The good times (for sea creatures) did not last. The new crust cooled and the sea level dropped. The fragmented continents drifted apart, but elsewhere began to collide and push up new mountains. One of these fragments was Italy, which in a moment of careless drifting crashed and caused the Alps. As a distant ripple of the Italian collision, the British-French chalk region was also pushed up. The elevation of this ripple reached as high as 1 kilometer in the Weald. The peak elevation eroded and this removed the chalk in the Weald, whilst elsewhere the chalk survived, now well above sea level.
The chalk has also been subject to the stress of the ice age. The glaciers left deep striations in the chalk around Stonehenge, running roughly southwest-northeast. They are nowadays difficult to see, but these striations may have been a reason to build Stonehenge here, as they approximately lined up with the solstice.
Chalk is a soft stone. The earliest bank of Stonehenge was made from chalk which was dug out using deer antlers. Here, unusually, bone is harder than stone. Try to imagine what it would be like to dig with antlers, and it becomes understandable that the ditch eventually became quite irregular.
Sarsen sandstone
The largest stones of Stonehenge are so-called sarsen stones. These were used for the outer ring and for the trilithons of the horsehoe. The individual stones elsewhere at Stonehenge also are sarsen stones. In total, 53 sarsen stones remain, out of perhaps 80 which were present in the heyday of the original monument. The stones are huge: the weights range from 4 to 35 tons each.
Sarsen stones are a sandstone. They are a silcrete, formed when sand became cemented by silica. It is similar to concrete, and like concrete it forms where there is an abundance of water. The silica is dissolved in the water, and is redeposited when the water dries out. Sarsen stones are found across much of southern England. They formed during a time of tropical conditions, after the sea had withdrawn, between 23 and 65 million years ago. Because of the need for water, this probably happened along water courses. Even nowadays, the sarsen stones can be found lying on the ground in many places. The stone is hard and resistant to erosion. Much of the stone has been used for building. The sandstone is a poor material for houses (it lets too much water in) but it was used for paving, stepping stones, and graveyards.
Sarsen stones in Wiltshire https://www.wiltshiregeologygroup.org.uk/geology/tertiary/
So the sarsen stones are a memory of an age where southern England was a fluctuating mix of sand and water. After the Cretaceous, the area to the west and northwest, from Brittany to Wales, was uplifted. There was a sea arm south of England and the North Sea basin already existed, both associated with the continuing formation of the Atlantic ocean. In between was a delta area which was at times submerged under a shallow sea. Rivers brought the eroded material to the south and deposited the sand. Later, the sand became cemented by silica. It was this combination that formed the sarsens. Some argued that the sarsen stone formed a cap over much of the area, but it is perhaps more likely that it mainly formed along the river courses.
Source: https://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/tertiaryrivers/
Sarsen source
A small surviving sarsen on Clatford Down beside Totterdown Wood. Source: The sarsen stones of Stonehenge, Mike Pearson. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association Volume 127, 2016, Pages 363-369. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016787815000899
There are sarsen stones near Stonehenge but they are small and are unlike the ones used in its structure. Already in the 18th century, the area around Marlborough was identified as the most likely origin of the Stonehenge sarsens. It is about 30 km north of Stonehenge. The sarsen stones here are sufficiently large and thick (1.5 meters) to fit the Stonehenge requirement.
The most likely source is at the top of the ‘downs’ (hills) above Clatford where a sarsen quarry may have existed. The stones here were tabular and much better shaped than those in the valley. Old reports states that near Clatford, there once were 12 stones lying which had been partly prepared, and were in the right location for transport to Stonehenge. That site no longer exists: it is now covered by the A4 road. Stukely, in the 18th century, wrote ‘Perhaps those were stones going to Stonehenge for they seem to have been brought from the top of the hill northward thence where upon a long ridge there are many stones of Vast bulk besides what lye in all the valleys round in great quantity.’ The ridge is near Totterdown Wood. But by 1812, the sarsen stones here had been destroyed for building works.
Note added July 2020: chemical analysis has traced the origin to near Clatford. The suggested site is Westwood, just south of the A4 and about 3 km south from the source suggested above. This confirms the general area. The exact location of course depends on there being remaining stones to test, which is the case in Westwood but not at the old site.
http://www.sarsen.org/2016/01/mpp-on-sarsen-stones-of-stonehenge.html
The stones were transported to Stonehenge where the dressing of the stones took place. A working area has been located about 100 meters north of Stonehenge, next to the avenue. This shows that the stones came from the north. Stone chips show that the stones were worked in this area, before being erected.
The solitary stones are Stonehenge are also sarsen stones, which unlike the main monument were not dressed. Among these is the slaughter stone, which lies on the ground next to the tourist trail. It is a rough sarsen stone. When it rains, water collects in the hollows and can become red-tainted, giving the impression of blood – thus the name. Of course, it is as historically incorrect as the Stonehenge druids. The stone originally stood upright: the hole where it resided is still there. There is a second hole, and there may once have been two stones (or the stone was moved, or the first hole was dug but rejected by the architect: archaeology requires a lot of conjecture). The sarsen stones contain whatever elements and minerals were present in the sand and water from which they formed. Many contain some iron, and this is what stains the water. There is no connection to blood, unless one considers that blood also gets its red colour from oxidized iron!
Greensand stone
The altar stone differs from all other stones at Stonehenge. It too is a sandstone, but it is a 6-ton greenish sandstone with mica. As it is buried underneath the huge fallen sarsen in the heart of the monument, no real excavation has been possible. However, the difference with the other stones is clear. There is no similar natural stone in the general area and it must have come from a considerable distance.
The precise origin is not known, but the nearest similar stone is found in the Senni formation. This is a layer of sandstone in south Wales, running in a narrow strip from Llanelli to Herefordshire. This puts the source of the altar stone in the Brecon Beacons or the Black Mountains. The Senni formation dates to 400 million years ago, making the altar stone much older than the sarsen stones which now cover it.
In fact, the Devonian deposits of which the senni formation is part, are among the oldest parts of England and Wales which formed above water. (Scotland has much older rocks, though). They formed in a similar way to the sarsens, along long river beds which deposited sand. The sand was became cemented in places, but here the cementing was done by calcium rather than silica: this is called calcrete.
The image shows the lay of the land in the early Devonian. This was just after the closure of an ancient ocean, the Iapetus. The Caledonian mountains formed along the closure: they can still be seen in Scotland, the Lake district and North Wales. South of the suture was a flat, wide delta created by sediment from the mountain range. The senni formation is a layer within this delta, which is exposed in places south Wales.
So we know the approximate area the altar stone came from but we cannot be fully certain of the precise origin. We do not have certified fragments of the stone available for analysis. What we have are chipped fragments taken from the location where the stones were worked, and although the chips we have are likely to come from the altar stone, this is not proven.
There is some colour confusion apparent in the naming. The altar stone is a greensand stone, coloured by glauconite. But the Senni bed belongs to the old red sandstone formation. To make things worse, the generic name for Welsh stones and Stonehenge is bluestone. This humble, buried centre piece is red, green and blue all at the same time.
Bluestones and the Stonehenge volcanics
The other stones of Stonehenge are found in the inner circle and the inner horsehoe. They are much smaller, and are called the bluestones, a colour which is only (just) seen when they are wet. There are much bluer rocks in the UK, especially the blue liam of Lyme Regis on the Jurassic Coast. But you can’t make monuments from them. Instead, the Stonehenge builders sourced the most impressive rocks they could find. But from where?
Preseli hills
The answer to that has been known since quite a long time. The type of stone is unique to the Preseli Hills, an area in Pembrokeshire on the west coast of Wales. It is a range of hills, up to 500 meters high, which dominate the lower land around them. There are burial sites, hill forts, bank and circles on the hills: it was a popular place in the neolithic. An ancient pathway, called the golden road, runs over the ridge of the hills. The hills are some 200 kilometers from Stonehenge.
Pearson et al, 2015, Antiquity, 89, 1331 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/craig-rhosyfelin-a-welsh-bluestone-megalith-quarry-for-stonehenge/D1E66A287D494205D22881CBF1F6DDE8
There are several potential neolithic quarries here from where the stones could have been taken. For a long time, the southern side of the hills was favoured for the origin of the bluestones. That was in part because of the possibility of moving the stones by sea. In recent years, attention has shifted to the northern side of the hills, where two specific sites were identified, the outcrops of Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin. The outcroppings are a few kilometers apart. In both places, the rock cracks naturally to form large slabs wich are easily removed from the mountain. Carbon dating on the sites shows that quarrying took place around 3200-3400 BC, which is a bit older than Stonehenge.
Archaeological excavation at Craig Rhos-y-felin
The validity of this source is still discussed, but it seems clear that the stones came either from here or from a very nearby region. However, although from such a specific location, the bluestones are not uniform in composition. The main type found among the fragments of bluestones scattered around Stonehenge is dolerite. Dolerite is an intrusive rock type: it forms when magma intrudes underground but solidifies in situ. However, fragments of rhyolite and tuffs have also been found.
The Preseli hills are Ordovician in age, around 450 million years old. At the time, this area was below water: the hills consists of marine mudstone. The magma intrusion happened a bit later. Erosion left the harder dolerite as outcrops above the softer mudstone. The sites identified above are for the dolerite bluestones, and these come from the intrusions.
During the Ordovician the Iapetus ocean still existed but it was already in the process of closing. Britain (without Scotland) was some 40 degrees south of the equator. Originally, it had been part of Gondwana, as a volcanic arc. During a rifting episode, the area broke off from Gondwana (an early brexit) and the microcontinent of Avalonia, including Britain, began to move north. To the northwest was the subduction zone that pulled Avalonia forward. On the far side of the closing ocean was Laurentia (effectively the early North America, including Scotland). To the northeast was another microcontinent, Baltica. The collisions followed in the Silurian, the period after the Ordovician. First, Avalonia joined America, and later both joined Baltica and Siberia. Now the northern continent of Laurasia had formed. After the Silurian came the Devonian, when the old red sandstone formed which gave rise to the Stonehenge altar stone. Some 300 million years ago, Gondwana caught up with escaped Britain, and the merger of Gondwana and Laurasia form the Pangea supercontinent. And much later, the break-up of Pangea led to the events that formed the chalk and the sarsen stones.
During the Ordovician, before the closure of the Iapetus, the area around Preseli was a back-arc basin, oceanic but without sea floor spreading. The rocks of Preseli were deposited in this basin. Other rocks of this age are found across West Wales and in the Lake District. The mixture of soft mudstone and harder rocks have left a dramatic landscape.
This story begins with the dolerite bluestones, but how about the rhyolite and tuff? Subduction is associated with volcanism. That happened here too in the Ordovician. Andesitic volcanoes formed: the eruptions formed the so-called Fishguard Volcanic Group. This was of course related to the dolerite: one formed below the surface, the other above it. The lava and tuff deposits are found especially on the eastern and northern side of the Preseli hills. Pillow lavas are common, showing that this was a marine basin. The Fishguard group has been dated to 460 million years ago, and this age agrees with those of crystals in the Stonehenge bluestone fragments. The Craig Rhos-y-felin quarry is within the region of the Fishguard volcanic deposits.
There is also evidence for a rhyolitic component to four of the Stonehenge bluestones. Rhyolitic rocks are found only in small area of basaltic pillow lavas. The precise origin is not known, but a relation to rhyolitic rocks exposed near Pont Saeson has been suggested. This is close to Craig Rhos-y-felin.
The route from here to Stonehenge must have gone over land as there are no harbours within reach of the northern slopes. The southern route is prohibited because of the steep ridge between the two sites and the sea. However, there is a fairly flat route from the north over land, which follows several river valleys. It does require that the river Severn was forded. The transport is now considered as quite doable for a group of determined people: the bluestones are much smaller than the sarsens, and typically weigh about 2 tons.
The overland route from Preseli through the river valleys. Insert from Pearson et al, 2015, Antiquity, 89, 1331 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/craig-rhosyfelin-a-welsh-bluestone-megalith-quarry-for-stonehenge/D1E66A287D494205D22881CBF1F6DDE8
(It has also been suggested that the stones were carried to the Stonehenge area by the ice age, as erratics. This proposal suffers from a lack of evidence, and it has difficulty explaining why the ice took only stones from Preseli and took them only to the Salisbury plains 200 km away and nowhere else. Human transport seems far more likely.)
The bluestones appear to have been moved to Stonehenge quite early. Based on bluestone shards found nearby, it may been around 2900 BC. This is still several hundred years after the quarrying at Preseli took place. One suggestion is that the original Stonehenge monument was not at Stonehenge but in Wales, and that this older stone circle was moved en mass to a new location and a new use. This would explain the several hundred year delay. Why was this done is something we may never know. Was it a vanity project by a powerful leader? Such things are well known in England: the useless but celebrated monuments build by people with too much money are called follies.
The bluestones may thus have been the first stones to arrive at Stonehenge, when it transformed from a circular bank to something altogether more impressive. This would fit the suggestion that the holes inside the bank were not used for wooden poles, but for standing bluestones. They may have been the same stones, later re-used time and again during subsequent redesigns of the site. A 2-ton stone is easier to move, after all than a 20-ton one! The stones were not dressed in Wales: the shaping took place only at Stonehenge.
Stone of ages
The stones of Stonehenge are an eclectic mix. The oldest are twenty times as old as the youngest. All are somehow related to Pangaea, the most recent supercontinent to exist on Earth. The oldest rocks are associated with the collision of Avalonia with Laurentia, which was a crucial step in the formation of Pangaea. The chalk stone and the sarsens are associated with last stages of the break-up of the supercontinent, and the completion of the Atlantic ocean. Perhaps Stonehenge should be called The March (or Rise and Fall) of Pangaea. Humans did have to move the heavy rocks – but plate tectonics did much of the work for them.
Our time at Stonehenge has come to an end and we have to head back to begin the drive home. Joining the queue for the bus, we have a final look at the old ruin, and the circle of barrows on the surrounding ridges. Stonehenge is a very human monument. It is a ruin from our distant past. Once this was the place to be seen, or at least to be buried. In a way, it still is. So much effort has gone into building it, nameless people dragging many tons of stone across 200 kilometer of undulating, spectacular but dangerous countryside. They too were under the pull of Stonehenge. But it is more than just human history. Stonehenge is also the result of the blood, sweat and tears of the Earth itself. The stones that made Stonehenge once build a continent. Stonehenge is also a monument to the Earth itself. It really does bring the past to life, both human and geological. Even that great bustard is a memory of the past. Once it roamed the plains, and now it has come back from extinction to reclaim ownership. It too belongs to Stonehenge.
Albert, July 2019
(This post is closely related to a previous post on another stone monument in the UK: The stones of Calanais)
21/07/2019 in History of the Earth. Tags: bluestone, Geology, greenstone, Marlborough, Pereli hills, sarsen, Stonehenge
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101 thoughts on “The stones of Stonehenge”
Fascinating! Thank you!
Always have been fascinated with both the reason for and the geology of the Stones.
also it show the importance of not doubting the “old one” mechanical and engineering skill.
No UFO occupants or “Chariots of the Gods” involved.
Here is a Wiki on the Stonehenge replica on the hills of the Wahington side of the Columbia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge
However the construction is concrete..
“Washington” Dammit.
Are you sure that ‘Wahington’ isn’t a freudian slip more accurately describing the population there?
I think today we really underestimate how a well organised society able to field 1000’s people can move (and make) massive stones. We see that in Easter Island, Egypt and pretty well anywhere there is a big enough society lasting for a few hundred years.
The other thing about the stone age in western europe is that sophisticated chambered tombs of the same design exist in both the Orkneys and southern spain and its likely the society was over a much bigger area than you might have expected.
Its also important to remember, as a reference point, that ALL the south american civilisations (inca , maya etc) were stone age. Its that level you need to consider when thinking of stonehenge and later. Remains are otherwise scarce because with a cool climate and plentiful timber they probably used wood which has long since vanaished.
This is very true. Stone age people had all of our intelligence (probably more as they needed to survive real life rather than computer games and gullability could be a killer) and were a lot stronger than we are. Shorter-lived as well, probably, so plenty of young people..
I grew up near Stanton Drew, so always had a facisnation with the Neolithic. As a small boy I got to ‘play’ at Stonehenge, no name carving, I promise. I remember hearing about a navy diver who said he saw cut stones just like the ones at Stonehenge on the bed of the Bristol Channel. They were destroyed during engineering work. Can’t find anything on the web about this but may have given weight to sea route theory if evidence was established. Avebury I also found to be more interesting to visit, I always take visitors to both.
http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~lbull/stonehenge.html
west kennet and silbury mound are also required visits.
There was certainly one such stone on the bottom of the sea: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/feb/07/art.artsfeatures
Very little else is known although I also have heard these stories. There is no evidence though, and interest has waned as the overland route seemed to be more likely.
The link mentions the various alignments of Stonehenge. The midwinter ones are the most accurate. The alignment of the heel stone with the summer solstice is a bit off, if you take into account that 5000 years ago the sun did not rise at exactly the same point. It was usable for the summer (noting that the sun rises at almost the same point for several days) but the original design was for the mid-winter.
There may be lunar alignments as well but this is harder to prove. There are so many holes where poles or stones stand or stood, that there is a significant chance that an alignment is just a coincidence.
I think an underestimated capability of paleolithic (and perhaps earlier hominids) was travel by sea/river. Uniquely amongst apes we have the ‘drowning reflex’ where physiological changes take place when immersed in water. Our dexterity makes shellfish of all sorts a really easy prey and there are small hills of shells left by early man around the med. The western european civilisation I mention above makes a lot of sense is paleolithic man was also an accomplished coastal sailor.
So I go for a naval method of moving the stones.
That was certainly the favourite route until fairly recently, at least for the bluestones. (The sarsens could only have been transported overland.) The locations of the quarries caused a problem as the only useable harbour was on the other side of the hills, pretty much inaccessible without a journey that would not be much less than going directly to Stonehenge. So the land route became preferred after that. There is some evidence that there was a bluestone monument at the river Avon which runs near Stonehenge. It is called bluestonehenge, and it may indicate a water route, but the problem is that the carbon dates are a bit younger than the main building phases at Stonehenge. It also flows towards the new forest which is the wrong direction for the stones. Perhaps it was used for a few miles up stream.
I guess that the original Stonehenge builders bought a used monument on ebay, and were happy with any delivery method that got the stones there in one piece and within budget. The clearly lost the re-assembly instructions, though.
Not entirely sure a harbour would have been required. Newport (to the north) has a sandy beach which is all I would have thought would be required. Let the tide lift the stones. For heavy weights I’m not sure I wouldn’t use a lot of inflated hides rather than timber. The tide is pretty strong round there (ever seen the flow between Ramsay & St davids?) so actually you could use the tides rather than paddling like a madman. That would easily get you to Bristol. After that I admit quite a bit of lugging would be required although the route isn’t that hard.
I question this naval method of transportation, based on my aquatic interests and experiences of the body of water concerned. Navigation of the Severn Estuary is to this day something not to be lightly undertaken, as it has (as has been referenced not so long ago here) one of the World’s most extreme hypertidal regimes.
After all the labour involved in bringing the stones to the estuary, there would be no certainty at all about them (and their human stewards) safely to the other shore. I could regale you with stories of the power of these tides, the prevalence of quicksand at low tide and so forth, but I suspect you are already well aware.
A crossing of the river further inland would be a small price to pay by comparison ,I would venture to suggest.
Thanks Albert, I was not aware of this, living elsewhere on the planet at the time. What a shame. There is plenty of evidence of occupation around the mouth of the Avon at the time so knowledge of tides, sandbanks etc. would have been advanced. The terraces mentioned around Pill are further evidence of engineering skills of the time, I’ve walked them (accepting the evidence they are human is speculative). In addition I do not see mention of sledging or ice roads as a possible winter transport method. They had the labour, but was it cold enough to use these methods in winter as well?
https://web.archive.org/web/20110520072835/http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Local-History-Heritage/archaeology/palaeolithic-in-bristol.en
Diolch, Albert.
The Presell hills are lovely. They have that aura of remoteness, not just from being in West Wales, but being an island of wildness rising above the countryside that itself is a patchwork of human influence (5000+ years of shaping…). Spent a lovely night camping up there once. The rocks are said to be strongly magnetic, with a local deviation just on the tops (the dolerite). There are many tales of people having strong dreams up there…or it could just be the mushrooms!
I’ve never seen Callanish referenced as Calanais before. You learn something new every… time you read an article on this site!
Keep up the good work, Albert.
Many thanks for your efforts.
It is Calanais in the local Gaelic. I picked the local name – but of course neither version is likely to be anything like the original name!
BadWolfTX says:
Not as sexy, but could the majority of the work have actually been done randomly by glaciers?
Retreating glaciers could have easily left behind a pile of large rocks that would have really stood out and could become a significant religious place in prehistoric life. Shaping and moving rocks locally would have been far less work.
Here are just a few examples or large rocks on the wrong place thanks to glaciers.
That’s how sarsen stones got into the area, the bluestones would have ended up in the atlantic though.
That was mentioned in the post. But the ice went the wrong direction from Pereli, and there are no bluestone erratics between Pereli and Stonehenge. So you would need very well trained ice, able to deliver stones to one specific area against the flow. People argue about it but I don’t buy it. I would be less surprised by some movement among the sarsen stones, but the stones known around Stonehenge are too small to be useful.
There have been a couple of dozen separate glaciations, at least, in the Quaternary Period.
Ice + rock can do some very odd things all on its own. That’s why they call them Glacial Erratics.
Not saying that none of the rocks were drug there by people. It’s certainly possible. I’m just saying that if I personally was going to build my own “Henge” project back then, I would have probably started the project with a big pile of glacial erratics that were already in the area.
During most of the glaciations the ice sheet didn’t even reach Wiltshire.
https://www.donsmaps.com/icemaps.html
This is the largest known erratic in Europe. Glaciers can indeed transport very large rocks, and do so over considerable distances.
But there is no evidence for glacial debris around the Salisbury plains. It is not seen in the deposits of the rivers from here either. Some of the bluestones are undressed, and these show no glacial striations. The discussion is on-going but the glacier hypothesis suffers rather badly from lack of evidence. They need to provide strong evidence to get back in contention. Scouse, in 1997, wrote
‘ though glaciers are capable of transporting erratic boulders many thousands of kilometres irrespective of bed topography, the particular case posed by the Stonehenge problem is not compatible either with the mechanics of ice flow or with the geological evidence. The weight of the current available evidence strongly indicates that the Stonehenge bluestones were not transported by ice from Preseli to Salisbury Plain.‘
(https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/pubs/proc/files/92p271.pdf)
For me, I am mostly thinking about the bigger sarsen stones as probably having help from glaciers in getting to the area of the construction site.
Any one of the past 2 dozen or so glacial periods could have dropped them off from a source farther north.
This whole area would probably have been a heavily forested area at the time. The locals would have been quite enamored with finding a bunch of large stones in the middle of the woods. It is quite possible, for a place of such significance, that they did indeed drag in some pretty blue and green volcanic rocks to add to it over time.
edwardlaneuk says:
Hi Albert – the article and this comment say Pereli in a couple of places – do you mean Preseli ?
You are quite right of course. Once you use a typo, there is a tendency to continue with it without noticing! When writing posts, these things slip through as there is no time for repeated proof reading. I have fixed it now.
that’s what I thought had happened, but there was a small chance that it really was a second set of hills and I didn’t know about them 🙂 thanks for fixing it.
Excellent read Albert, thanks very much
Andrew McNeil says:
Long time lurker really enjoying this article whist co-incidentally on holiday on the edge of the Preslli hills – serendipitous ! Agree with previous comments that beautiful Newport village with it’s estuary and several beaches would be a great place to transport the Bluestones….
Excellent read. Very, very good.
One minor quibble about the bluestones…
“The route from here to Stonehenge must have gone over land as there are no harbours within reach of the northern slopes…”
IIRC, the sea level was significantly lower, the Welsh Western coastline some-what further out.
Some years back, I took issue with a ‘bluestone boater’ who’d proposed building mega-coracles etc around the stones. I pointed out that putting such a stone in such a boat was a really silly thing to do. It could break, swamp, capsize etc and failure was not readily survivable.
Putting the stone on a raft was not a good idea, either.
But, if you slung the stone on its sled *beneath* a raft, you had a viable system. Simple as dragging laden sled down beach on ‘corduroy road’, rollers etc, waiting for the tide to come in, then floating raft over the top and picking up the lifting ropes. Then, by judicious use of wind & tides, grounding when conditions unfavourable, paddling when appropriate, it just took time…
In addition, such immersion provided some buoyancy, reducing the effective load by not-insignificant factor…
Worst case, if stone broke free or had to be cut loose, the crew were safely high and dry on their raft.
Several people have now commented on this topic. Sea level was not much different from the current one, by the way. This was long after the ice age. But Newport may have provided a suitable loading point. Reading the literature, the main argument against this seems to be that the sea route past St Davids Head is a very hazardous one due to the cliffs and currents. Does anyone know the are well enough to comment?
I have been there and the tides are quite a flow, particularly between ramsay island and the mainland. However I very much doubt that would have been a problem for a people who knew what they were doing, indeed they may have used it to their advantage. Using the tide to move a massive raft along the coast is much easier than rowing it and it only requires anchoring/beaching when the tide is the wrong way.
Do not underestimate their intelligence and local knowledge.
The tides can provide the speed but the accurate steering may be a problem! Wind can mess things up – even a few centuries ago ships could be in harbour for a month waiting for a favourable wind. Have any ships from this era been found? What technology did they use?
The most recent evidence of how people moved around this region during this period, suggests they were excellent mariners with established trade routes between The Isles and Europe. I would not be too surprised if they moved things by sea.
That aerial photo, Farmeroz. Is that The Bitches ?
I have some (second hand) knowledge, from both kayakers and board riders who have surfed the standing waves there.
Apparently these waves only settle down for a very brief period (about 20 mins) with the turning of each tide. I’m told that surfing the wave is the easy part. When you eventually make a mistake and lose the wave,that’s when life gets interesting, as you have to get yourself back under control very quickly to avoid being smashed into rocks further down the run, and that you will travel a considerable distance away from the break even if in full control.
I knew a maritime pilot who worked the Severn Estuary area in its entirety for his whole working life. I’m also aware of the ancient tradition of working the mud flats by means of a type of sled , locally known as a mud horse (only one still in operation) which might potentially give insight into how the shore-to-shore distance could be significantly reduced.
But based on (pilot) Dave’s reminiscences, I seriously doubt that such a crossing would have been attempted any further to seaward than somewhere in the vicinity of Hock Cliff/Awre . This was also a known low tide fording place for those with sufficient local knowledge. I believe it was the most seaward of these.
But to further offset my own considerations is a known unknown. There were previously at least 2 more islets in the estuary somewhere (from memory) around the site of the newer of the 2 suspension bridges at Beachley. At least one of these had a flattish character, perhaps similar to Flat Holm, which still exists near Lavernock Point. Maybe that could have been a staging post?
One of these islands was eroded over time, finally disappearing at some point during the middle ages, the other, I am told was finally smeared off the face of the Earth by the 1607 “tsunami” event, now just existing as an area of dark rubble near the English shore, on the approach to Sharpness.
Whilst there was certainly navigation across this channel going back thousands of years, I’m inclined to believe it was (and to some extent still is) a risky business, and that as a result our early civil engineers would have mixed a little creativity with a slightly more conservative approach and crossed further inland, probably somewhere around the Forest of Dean.
Given the several ages of the drowned forests of Cardigan Bay, it looks like they lost a big tranche of ‘soft coast’ around the period of interest…
( UK East Coast shows you can lose metres per storm, thriving port-towns in a century…)
FWIW, the ‘Lost Frontiers’ project may be of interest, as this is exploring the paleo-geography of both ‘Doggerland’ and the ‘Irish Sea’.
https://lostfrontiers.teamapp.com/
Albeit shows inundation mostly preceded ‘henge period, found this…
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue53/8/toc.html
I am dubious about such stories, mainly because the inundation happened 6000 years ago and the local population was almost fully replaced later. There are stories among the Australian aboriginals which tell about the flooding of the continental shelf a very long time ago, but they had the advantage of an unbroken lineage. I am equally suspicious of attributing any flooding to a tsunami, unless there is strong evidence. In the Netherlands it is known that essentially all flooding came from major storms. A once-a-century storm can raise water levels by many meters at a shallow coast. That is going to give you a devastating wall of water and leaves the countryside uninhabitable for a long time after.
Hmm well no. Most likely course of events is that everyone in the craft would be killed and both craft and cargo lost.
This is a very unusual environment, and one I am intimately acquainted with. At low tide, most of it is exceptionally shallow, to the point where “V” hulled RIBs really shouldn’t ever go off piste. There are shoals and hidden shallows all over the place, which (crucially) can move literally within a couple of days after a storm, or an exceptional tide (pretty regular), or even just heavy rain upstream. And at all stages of the tide, the currents are intense.
There are ephemeral and very powerful whirlpools, vast stretches of quicksand and.. Well in short, this is just about as hostile an environment as you’ll find anywhere in Europe.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that up to date local knowledge couldn’t mitigate the risks. It certainly can. That has kept me alive on at least a couple of occasions.
But if you sling a rock under your craft it seems almost inevitable that it will catch/snag at some point. High tide just doesn’t last long enough (given the tidal range here of up to 14.5 metres at Avonmouth, 10m at Sharpness) to allow a craft of any type to which the builders may have had access sufficient time to cross. If the “keel” gets snagged, the likelihood is their craft will turn in the current and all would be lost.
This still happens (ref: “Disasters on the Severn” by Chris Witts), even to modern craft.
I therefore think it almost entirely unlikely that they would try this, when the extra mileage on land, nuisance though it be, affords pretty much a guarantee of a successful passage. If the arrival of the stones at their destination were that important to them, as seems self evident, any other means would be foolhardy.
To summarize, the people of the time were very familiar with the sea, and boats could have carried such stones, but the people would have known how difficult the journey is. The land route seems the more likely one.
Exactly that. Thanks Albert.
A general reminder: if you comment for the first time or after a long time, it is likely that your comment will be put on hold for approval. That can take some hours, so please be patient if this happens. Once it has been approved, subsequent comments should appear without delay.
As a small detour from Honed Stenge, I noticed this summary of an article on calculating magma storage under volcanoes. It struck me as being quite interesting. Also covers the Icelandic volcano of Theistareykir.
There is abundance of conspiracy concerning iconic landmarks. That’s something everyone likes to talk about but no one really cares for in our community.
Stonehenge inspired Carhenge in Nebraska:
http://carhenge.com/
Lots of thanks for the article Albert. Nice read!
Great article. I reckon Avebury knocks the spots off Stonehenge. The bank and ditch that surrounds the stones at Stonehenge is c 100 m in diameter. Avebury, some 20 miles north of Stonehenge, has two inner stone circles each of 100 m diameter within its enormous 331 m diameter outer stone circle and massive bank and originally 9 m deep ditch. Plus it has two stone Avenues, and some of the sarsens at Avebury are ginormous. Just doesnt have trilithons as at Stonehenge, but in all other respects its better, imho.
I agree, in terms of the engineering and the truly humbling size and complexity of the Avebury complex.
But, correct me if I’m wrong, weren’t all of the stones involved in Avebury’s construction of relatively local origin?
For those wishing to experience Stone Age Britain though I absolutely agree with you. In fact, Stonehenge would only be 3rd on my “Henges to visit” list. Avebury is an absolute must, then Callanish, and only then,Stonehenge.
Also you can go up to and touch the stones, which only oldies like me have done at stonehenge.
I remember it well. Stonehenge Festival in 80 or 81. Alas, but a few idiots leave their stain on the stones and understandably , all are then excluded.
I also visited it as a child before it was closed off from the public. The closing off was in 1977. The Stonehenge festival began in the early 1970’s.
If I recall, the stones were in general closed to the public, but by agreement with the British Druid Order (or was it the other one, OBOD ? ), they were open on the solstices.
I only went to the festival once, not long before the authorities stopped it (with no small brutality, culminating in the notorious “Battle of the Beanfield”), and that was in the early 80s. Access was completely unrestricted on that day, and at least on that occasion all seemed very well behaved. In the years that followed it became much more unruly.
nice article…. but i’m kinda neutral about stacking up rocks. i’m a fan of natural stuff. Hubby doesn’t like me going to check the mail because i always find interesting rocks and haul them home. What natural processes do to form rocks are more interesting to me than stacking them up like dominoes. HOWEVER, this is one of the better articles on Stonehedge that i’ve read. 🙂 Best!motsfo
I am with you Motsfo.
Building cairns (is that the correct word for them?) along popular hiking routes or rocky points of touristic interest, has become sort of mania.
Formerly used as way sign in rough terrain, now stony graffity. The bad me desires to push a foot slowly at the side of those “steinmännchen” as they are called in the Austrian Alps. I love the sound of falling rock.
Better speed up pace and keep track.
Here’s just a moment’s musing on Stonehenge.
Last night here in the UK the big news for those of us not interested in tragi-comic politics was the intense wave of powerful thunderstorms traversing the country.
I stayed up late into the night watching both out of the window (and damn ! It was a good one !) and online, tracking precipitation and lightning strikes as they happened.
At one point I noticed a really intense cluster of strikes just outside Amesbury, the small town near Stonehenge, so I zoomed in the map and it did indeed look like that cluster was highly focused around the henge.
Now I’m not saying that the stones were placed there either to attract lightning, or to celebrate some unusual “lightning hotspot”, but I did get to thinking that such large stones erected in relatively large numbers on an otherwise featureless plain may well draw the lightning to an unusual degree.
This (if true) would not I don’t think , be any part of an explanation for the choice of site, but would certainly serve to give “The Faithful” of whatever spirituality was practised there all the more reason to venerate the place.
Any thoughts? On any of that aimless morning musing?
The stones do not have enough iron in them to act as conductors. The flat tops also do not particularly attract lightning. I had a look at lightning frequency maps of the UK but these do not have enough resolution. The highest frequency of strikes is in the midlands, north of London, with the caveat that the UK statistics can be biased by one particularly severe storm because major thunderstorms are infrequent here.
There are a fair number of photos of Stonehenge with lightning. Here is a water colour from Turner where obviously the ground had been struck because of the wounded sheep and shepherds. A single ground strike can kill some distance away because of the electric field it sets up. Suddenly the sheep have a big potential difference between front and hind legs, and a current begins to flow. I have experienced that once while camping when one strike killed four cows in the field next to us.
Something very like that killed my Gr. Grandpa Ted Hatfield (Yes he was a Hatfield of -those- Hatfields 0). He was on my mother’s side. He left the feudin’ and fightin’ for
Kansas in the NW section went to work as a cowboy on the family ranch died in 1912 when he was herding cows- open field and no shelter.Killed several head
of cows too..
My McCoy side left the Shenandoah valley and homesteaded in Iowa before the civil war.
I have a Swedish friend who insists Stonehenge was brought to England from Sweden as a “flatpack” by the ancestors of Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea; and assembled on site in the hope of payment by gullible locals for custom versions to be erected at Avesbury, Callendish and other locations as vacation sites for visiting deities known for their big spending. Your article casts doubt on this entirely credible claim. It has rocked my faith in my friend’s veracity; and has me wondering about the wisdom of paying him $50 for the exclusive rights to publish the truth about the standing stones of Britain and Ireland.
Seeing that Stonehenge has partly collapsed, there was some issue with either the manufacture or the assembly instructions. I think it is the only stone age monument in the UK that has collapsed (correct me if this is wrong). It probably was bought from a competitor, which was a little cheaper and a lot worse.
I think there’s some credibility here, seriously !
Albert, you will doubtless be aware of Wood Henge, near neighbour of the famous stones.
It is only known through the evidence of what were post holes.
Why no timber fragments ?
Have you ever seen what a little rain can do to MDF products ?
Bloody IKEA !!
I have two ikea products in my house and they are excellent.
I remember when Ikea’s stuff was made from wood. No longer.
Wood is still a thing?
Peter… was reading Your comment to Hubby and he gaffaued… and said “help me up… i fell for that” (about half way thu) Thanks, Best!motsfo
I’m conspiring with your neighbour’s cat to trip up your hubby whenever an opportunity presents. Hope nothing broke but the containment of hs mirth.
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-soundlevel.htm
Is the calculator accurate?
From AVO:
Volcanic Activity Summary: The Alaska Volcano Observatory is raising the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Alert Level to WATCH at Shishaldin Volcano. Field crews reported an active lava lake and minor spattering within the summit crater during a helicopter overflight. Elevated seismic activity continues similar to the past few weeks along with consistent elevated surface temperatures in satellite images. No lava or ash has erupted outside the summit crater at this time.
Shishaldin is monitored by local seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, a web camera, a telemetered geodetic network, and distant infrasound and lightning networks.
Looks like we have a new lava lake, at least for the moment.
I enjoyed this read. Thanks for posting it.
Academic ancient history is a pseudo-science, it’s trash. Only people with little knowledge could believe it. Fortunately, at the present time, several international multidisciplinary research projects have begun to completely rewrite ancient history, with the support of large funds. Of course many academics are opposed to a rewrite of ancient history, because they should admit to having told so many lies, and should admit their own incompetence (in our time truth is not an important ideal, career and reputation are more important). One day we will have not only a new historical chronology, but also a new geological chronology.
I’d like to read here an article that explains in depth how the current geological chronology was created, on what evidence is based, on what methods of dating and what are the defects of these methods. In practice an investigative article, and not a propaganda article where every self-proclaimed “scientific” theory is passed as absolute truth.
I find this quite offensive. Which part of the physics of radioactive decay don’t you believe in? Isotope analysis? Geology? You provide no information or references but do accuse people of incompetence.
The geologic lit is partially to blame. Did anyone as a lay person ever try to make heads or tails of a scientific article? I swear they make up half of those words. Otherwise after I look up everything in my thesaurus and do weeks of additional research and vocabulary drills. They seem to know what they’re talking about. Although I don’t particularly understand why some things cannot be plainly stated unless the human ego does not permit it. Let your yes mean yes and you’re no, no. Everything else is evil.
Yes, science has made its own language. It is in part because english isn’t precise enough for what is being conveyed, and in part because of the wish to be concise. I use equations for the same reason: they are more precise than written out as text, and they are MUCH shorter that way. Of course it would be good to write a short summary in a more understandable language. Scientists often do that but there aren’t many places to put such pieces. The Conversation has recently begun to provide such a platform. We also write summaries for the press but they have their own requirements in terms of what might be published. VC provides a place for science and the interested public to mix. There aren’t some, but not so many of those. To have baseless accusations being put here is upsetting.
For example, the Apollo moon landing there was a lot of technical jargon being thrown around, there was a program that help them land the LEM ( lunar excursion module) on the moon it used programs P64-P66 and the computer glitched out because it was too slow to keep up with the software requirements, but anyone who listened to the dialogue between Houston and Tranquility Base last week during the 50th anniversary was most likely very puzzled, simply put the lander need to calculate how to land as safely as possible and while monitoring the landing the computer had to skip non critical steps when it did it threw a 1202 and a 1201 error. You can hear the astronauts tell Houston “1202” during the landing and then they replied reply go ahead. It all makes sense if you have intimate knowledge of the lander and the software other than that it’s nonsensical jargon. So scientists made up there own language to land on the moon too. Could it of been simpler? Yes, it even puzzled the astronauts in the lander! An unnecessary “evil” perhaps.
Here the link to the Apollo computer if interested I may have mistaken what programs were what other than that I suppose I’m in danger of waffling so no need to reply if we’re off topic too far
https://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.html
NASA is notorious especially for using abbreviations. Of course this is engineering rather than science. But think about baud rate. The astronauts saying ‘1202’ identified the problem exactly. They didn’t know the cause but it could be conveyed with a minimum of characters. If they had to describe it in words (‘computer is a bit slow and seems preoccupied’) they would have crashed before NASA knew what was going on.. Not ideal for the listeners though – that is true! But I am not sure it could have been much more efficient. Nowadays mission control would have seen all the information directly but in those days, it had to go through the astronauts.
(I could also mention that in science, you can’t always say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We have to be much more precise than that. We see something under certain conditions and calculate numbers under certain assumptions. Over time, the answer become simpler as more conditions are covered and other assumptions have been tried. Science goes slowly.)
Every technical specialty has their own vocabulary to make communications quick and efficient. Remember, though NASA was a “civilian” agency, the astronauts came from a military background. Using pro-words and acronyms came naturally to them.
Hint. On a military radio-telephone net you will likely never hear anyone use the word “repeat.” That has a very specific meaning and is used in one specific warfare area. “I say again” is the appropriate term.
Half the fun of being prior military and watching the “military” based movies is seeing just how trashed their protocols are. If they used proper terminology and protocol there is a very good chance that the audience would be completely lost.
The same can be said of Aviation and air traffic control coms. Unless you have the appropriate chart and know what your looking at and how to read it, it’s not understandable.
For example, the term “Heavy” in an aircraft’s call sign means “aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight”
That tells the controller what the runway restrictions are for the aircraft’s landing needs. Not all runways can handle that weight or are too short.
During my career in the space program I delighted in cute acronyms for programs. At one time the NORAD system was populated with programs like BASS, SMELT and VIPER. It made Air Force meetings sound much more interesting! (And my programs never sent killer robots back from the future so there) 🤖
I too find this a little offensive.
Why does the Royal Horticultural Society favour botanical names, rather than the common names that everyone understands ?
I’ll answer that in part with a further question.
What is a Geranium ?
The second part of the answer is that botanical names are highly specific , whereas common names are not. Often unrelated plants share the same name. The sorts of Geraniums which a lot of brits put in hanging baskets are not Geraniums at all. They are Pelargoniums.
ScienzaObsoleta – there’s a difference between constructive criticism and insulting someone. I feel this comment breaks the ‘be nice’ rule. You have been warned.
Geological Chronology 101 (I’ll probably make a few mistakes but I’m fairly sure this covers most of it)
‘stratigraphy’ – if you pour sediments into the sea/riverbed then layers form, and stuff (sediment or dead plants/animals) that is already on the bottom gradually gets covered by stuff that is added later. So unless things are disturbed/folded/broken by later events – the further down you dig the older the rock – the layers are called beds
‘fossils’ – lets look at an obvious type – if impressions/footprints left in the mud later get buried in sand, then after that has become rock over time you can still see the shape of the original footprint by taking away either the mud or the sand – you get a mold and cast
‘biostratigraphy’ – if you have a bunch of layers of rock (that don’t look all broken up and folded) and some fossil types show up in the three layers at the bottom – but don’t show up anywhere else – and some other fossil types show up in all layers except the bottom two layers – then any rock with both those fossil types can be assumed to belong to the third layer – and so be of a particular age
‘faulting,folding and mining’ – so when you come to look at rocks you notice that the flat beds sometimes get smashed together bent/tilted/folded etc (it might be dragons or magic that did it – but we are now pretty confident that it was plate tectonics and earthquakes)
if you want to find coal/iron/whatever you try to find a bed containing it on the surface and dig in following the layer – but sometimes there are faults in the rock where (because of earthquakes) layers have got out of step with each other so the bed may appear to come to an end – but if you notice that all the coal layers in one place (place A) slope downward to the north, and a few hundred miles away (at place B) you notice that all the coal layers slope downward to the south – then you can imagine a ridge shape (anticline) or a valley shape(syncline) – depending on where A and B are in relation to each other
if it is a syncline then you know that the coal layer probably continues (with some faults and breaks) underground all the way between the points A and B – so you could dig down between them to find coal – but no point going outside the area as those bits of rock that would have had the coal have already worn away
if it is an anticline then you can look outside the area and should find coal – but between A and B the rock has already been worn away so the coal you were following is not going to be found there.
‘geological mapping’ go around with a compass, a protractor and a plumb line (or a clinometer) – wherever you see a bit of bedded rock (no point trying to look at small broken off chunks for this) – measure out the direction the rock bed is sloping, and how steep it is sloping – if it is faulted take readings on both sides of the fault – and if you can spot the same rocks on both sides of the fault measure the displacement – then do that pretty much everywhere – and then try to follow lets say the coal bed across a large area – that gives you the shape of the underlying geology and you can do that for every different rock type and age that you can match
‘unconformities’
if you have some beds that have been folded and tilted – and then these rocks end up in a desert for a million years quite a lot of that rock will get worn away and turned into sand and blow away – that leaves you with the ends of lots of different layers of rock showing – if the sea then covers the area you can get more beds deposited flat on top of those edges – when you find these in the rock you can safely assume that all the rocks above the unconformity are younger than the ones below
‘igneous’ so far all that basically applies to sedimentary rocks – and then you get volcanoes and igneous intrusions – ash layers, lava layers, and places where magma moving – forcing its way up through the beds of rock already there, doesn’t make it to the surface.
those rocks look very different – the rock is made of crystals rather than grains of mud/sand – big crystals are formed when the rock cooled slowly, small crsytals when it cooled fast – so you can tell whether the layer was at the surface or not – which may let you treat the rock as if it was sedimentary when it comes to looking at relative ages of rocks. But mostly igneous rock is hard to date because it didn’t make it to the surface – so it is not in nice layers – but you do know that it is younger than anything it cut through – and the magnetic elements in the rock align to the earths magnetic field at the time the rock solidified.
ok i think pretty much covers the bases – I’ve probably missed a bunch – but if you look at that in a big enough scale you can follow the movements of plates, and work out the relative ages of rocks – and if you assume the rates of deposition in the past are broadly similar to the rates of deposition in similar environments in the present then you can work out the ages of rocks and the full chronology.
Added to these there are some techniques that are used to constrain the absolute age of rocks, meaning how much time has passed since a rock or an structure formed which then combined with the methods of relative dating you mention are used to create the geological history.
Most are methods of radiometric dating that use the decay of radioactive isotopes. By comparing how much decay products there are in relation to how much of the initial isotope is left, it allows to get the time since the rock formed, the plant died… There are many different radiometric techniques used depending on the situation. Radiocarbon dating is for example of particular importance in volcanology since it allows to date recent lava flows, it uses the decay of Carbon-14 and works over the last 50000 years but other methods of radiometric dating apply over much longer timescales. For radiocarbon to be possible one needs to find some piece of carbon that came from vegetation, or similar, caught in the lava flow or pyroclastic surge.
There are probably more absolute methods, I can think now of paleomagnetism, some minerals like for example the magnetic minerals in the magma can leave a record of the magnetic field, in the case of lava it occurs during cooling, below the Curie Point and before it solidifies. Under certain circumstances this will also help give an age.
yes and I also missed a couple of biggish exceptions to the broad strokes above
limestones/salt/iron ore etc – which are crystalline and form when dissolved materials precipitated from solution (and unlike my earlier comment might imply -not volcanic)
a couple of non crystalline volcanics like obsidian
some desert environments end up with accumulations of sand forming sandstones – not necessarily eroding to make unconformities
any form of erosion (not just wind/water) such as glaciation could be the cause of an unconformity and erosion will also result in the deposition of sediments somewhere else.
anyway – not that important nor terribly volcanic
but I guess caldera formation – or flank collapse is effectively ‘extreme speed erosion’ so it does create an unconformity in the prexisting volcanic sediments, as well as resulting in the deposition of sediments elsewhere – and so subsequent ashfall/lava layers would be clearly marked by that as younger
volcanic sediments – should read ‘layers’ – oops 🙂
er…. ah….. scientific theory is never touted as absolute truth.
Albert can, and probably will, correct me here but in science it used to be that:
a Postulate: something someone thought might be true often with little evidence.
a hypothesis: something with significant evidence its true, but the jury is still out.
A Theory: something that is mathematically specific and has been shown to be very accurate over a wide range of situations and generally considered to be effectively ‘true’ in its area of application.
Note that in ‘common parlance’ theoretical has come to mean hypothesis at best whilst when a scientist says something is theoretically true it typically means its unconfirmed but follows theory, black holes being one of many examples.
So “In theory the earth goes round the sun”, means it DOES go round the sun.
ok who was the guy who said “You can prove a theory false but You can never prove a theory absolutely true in all cases.” or that must be what You are saying, Farmeroz. Best!motsfo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYPapE-3FRw
scientific method explained by Feynman
There is one more: a ‘law’. A law of physics is a relation that needs to be obeyed in whatever calculation or model that is used. They come in a variety: there are force laws (e.g. gravity), statistical laws (e.g. thermodynamics), conservation laws (e.g. momentum or energy). Occasionally a law is overturned, for instance when Einstein updated Newton’s law of gravity, but it is very rare. A ‘theory’ becomes a ‘law’ after it has been shown to be correct on numerous tests.
There is no punishment for breaking the laws of physics because you can’t. The punishment for proposing to break the laws is ridicule.
No punishment, but they might give you a Darwin award for trying…
Which leads me to a question. The First Law of Thermodynamics, the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system; it can only change from one form into another.
Irrespective of size, shape or duration, the universe comprises everything that currently exists, has existed in the past and will ever exist in the future in one form or another; a continuity of existence that includes any other simultaneous universes or chronological iterations. Absolutely nothing exists outside that continuity of existence; thus the universe is an isolated system.
It follows that before the Big Bang, whether described as an “expansion” or “explosion”; all that energy and matter which has now evolved into the stars, galaxies, black holes, dark energy and matter of our visible universe; and the living forms and sentient beings like us, by which the universe can witness and explore its own existence and attribute meaning and purpose to it; must have existed in another highly compressed form. Sorry for the length of that sentence.
Given its assumed small dimensions and very large mass, it would have to be a very large black hole held together by its own gravity until it burst for reasons unknown – perhaps reaching a critical mass, or a direct collision with a similar sized black hole. Surely the existence of “absolutely nothing” must be impossible, if only by virtue of that contra-indicative existence – and all that exists must always exist in one form or the other?
How can an intelligent person even contemplate the notion that the universe popped into existence and expanded into its current form, mass and energy out of absolutely nothing? If so, then absolutely nothing must be a force with the same energy and mass as at least one universe and probably an infinite number of the same? Are we to contemplate a theory of a quantum gluon-field-fart of universal magnitude, or an infinite accumulation of lesser quantum farts eventually reaching a critical mass – ultimately evolving into sentient beings that can ask such silly questions?
1) Have you read ‘A brief history of time”?
2) In general relativity mass-energy is NOT conserved (eg redshift).
3) If you want some understanding then to follow the argument/experiments you just have to do the equivalent of a doctorate in general relativity with a dose of quantum mechanics thrown in.
Alternatively you just have to rely on people you think you can trust that such-and-such work has been done and the results were, and the bits-we-don’t-understand are. The fact we don’t understand a tiny bit at the frontiers of time and energy doesn’t invalidate the rest of the edifice.
Also note that experimental results always stand its the interpretation that changes and these changes are likely only to affect stuff you know nothing about (possibly because nobody does right now).
You may wish to look to Noether’s theorem where conservation of energy results from time being conserved (not so in GR) conservation of momentum applies to space and so on. Its worth knowing about her theorem because its quite eye-opening.
that’s probably worth chatting in the volcano bar rather than on the main thread
Conservation of energy (or mass-energy) is valid. But calculating the total energy of the Universe is not trivial. There is good reason to assume that the total energy is zero. For example, if you launch a rocket the kinetic energy is enormous. But it slows down as it gets further from Earth, and at very large distances the energy gets close to zero. That is actually the correct value.
You have to account for all energy sources. Take, for instance, water at a certain temperature. It releases energy when cooling. but at zero degrees, it freezes and this freezing also releases energy – something you would not have known and would not have taken into account. The Universe also had some phase changes which released energy although it is not easy to visualize where that energy came from though. Dark energy may be related to this.
AND – if all that exists, exists within a value field of absolutely nothing, can we be thought to truly exist at all, except as a digital beings in a digital universe, the result of absolutely nothing and something other than absolutely nothing (the existence of nothing) in superposition, where everything possible exists simultaneously in digital form?
Ultimate science: H bar the theory that nothing can be known absolutely rendering even itself out of existence. What is nature making a random choice really? If the universe is meaningless so is saying it is so. Everything you see is a meaningless choice, but what is it that is choosing exactly? Remember, This is science, this is observation.
The VC bar would be a good place for this.
OK, “laws” at bottom and jack all the rest up one. Knew I’d missed one out but hey a senior moment.
I’m not sure newton gravity was really overturned, more subsumed as a useful approximation into a more encompassing law. Other than GPS nobody really uses anything but newton for any useful engineering.
Its said that newton is primarily due to bending of the time dimension so it should be possible to approximate the moon’s orbit using just one radial dimension and time dilation due to gravity. I asked (in another place) if anyone had ever done this as an illustration and apparently not, nor did they quite know how to, which was odd in itself. Sadly I have never (knowingly) manipulated tensors so wouldn’t really know where to start.
I’d like to add to that, it should never be. Step 1 observe step 2 make hypothesis step 3 make predictions based upon 2, if not 100% accurate in all case go back to step one even if accurate in 100% of cases go back to step one
As a science teacher of teenagers in several places around the globe I have taught anti-vaxxers, greationist and moon landing deniers, etc. I often explain that they are only scratching the top of the iceberg of scientific knowledge. They are on the lower rungs and want to race to the top rungs without having to make the effort in between. Many are frustrated with science as there are often no simple answers. What I have noticed is that those who continue to advanced science studies, their opinions change, often they realise just how much more there is to learn still about the universe for them.
I have worked with two Physics teachers who thought evolution was fake. But both accepted the Hubble constant (which may not be so constant). The human brain is thus unique. I count myself in this. I suspect there is a Dunning–Kruger effect in all of us. That’s why the scientific method is so important. It’s proved it’s worth over and over again.
Can the science conversation be cut and pasted into the VC bar so it can be continued?
We can’t currently move comments without messing things up. But I have copied your comment to the bar.
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Drift Allstars Round 4: Turn it up to eleven.
10 August 2014 Maurice Bergers
As a photographer you’re continuously trying to one-up yourself. You keep trying to challenge yourself in new ways and get even better at what you do. In this quest for improvement, you also try to look for events that will help you express your creativity and that will allow you to create exciting images. It was during this quest that I found myself in Riga, where the 4th round of the Extreme Drift Allstars was set to take place.
Going to these events, you sometimes have no idea what it’ll be like. Sure, you look at photos from earlier rounds and even though a picture can tell you a thousand words, sometimes it’s just not enough.
Then there’s the stories told by friends that have been there before. The thing is though, do you believe their hype? Will it be as good as they say it will be? It’s easy to get really excited by their stories, but also easy to get disappointed when you get too caught up in their tales filled with promises.
I tried to go to this event with an open mind, even though in the back of my mind I still heard the voices of my fellow photographers: “You really have to go to Drift Allstars!” “Go to Riga bro, it’ll be epic” “There’s this tower there, go climb it.”
After arriving on a Thursday afternoon, it would not be until the next day before I’d get to experience what Drift Allstars would be like. With over 50 drivers from 14 different countries, the battles would no doubt cause the necessary excitement.
The event was held over two days, the first day being solely for practice, while the second day would allow the drivers to qualify for the top 32 battles later that same day. Walking onto the still pretty quiet paddock on the first day was already quite enjoyable, as I could already see some of the best cars the world of drifting has to offer.
And even though the day was still young, Mark Needs already ran into trouble with his gearbox. Luckily he was able to fix the car well in time and seemed to have no further troubles running the car hard.
Slowly but surely the paddock would fill all the way up, and near the end of the day all the teams were there to some practice runs in. This already proved this was an event on a whole other level than what I was used to.
At the end of the first day there was something quite special planned. It involved something that is normally far from legal and would result in quite a few hefty fines…
The entire field of over 50 drivers would take their car to the streets of Riga and as a group would drive to a square right in the centre of the city. Was this really happening?
You bet it was! Some of us photographers got to hop in the back of a big pick-up which allowed us to get shots of the bunch of crazies that was let loose right in the city centre.
Driving through Riga with a bunch of drift cars was already an amazing experience, but was made even better by everyone that came out to see the parade. People were already lined up along the route to catch a glimpse of the madness that had descended on their town.
The city of Riga is interesting to say the least. It is in fact the biggest city in the Baltic States and home to some amazing art nouveau style buildings. Driving through it with all those mad cars, the sound of powerful engines reverberating through the streets, this something you’ll have to just experience for yourself someday. It is truly epic.
And not only is it an amazing experience, it’s also a brilliant bit of marketing. The end of the route was right outside the main train station of Riga, where all the cars were lined up on a public square so people could see the cars from up close and even chat with the drivers. What a way to let people know Drift Allstars is in town!
After that already eventful first day, I could not even begin to imagine what the next day would bring. I just knew it was going to be good!
The next day started quite early with another practice sessions. It gave the drivers time to get those last minute adjustments out of the way, finish the set-up of the car and get the lines of the track down. Everything would need to be perfect for qualifying!
Before starting the qualification runs, it was time to introduce all the drivers and their vehicles of choice to the crowd that came out in big numbers.
Sometimes accompanied by proper Latvian eye candy of the female variety, the drivers would make their way onto the short straight…
…but not without burning some rubber and revving their loud combustion engines. Drifting is a true spectator sport and these guys know how to get the crowd hype!
For now it was all fun and games, but in a few moments the drivers would have to put on their game face. Qualifying it brutal, as not scoring not enough points will mean you’ll have to sit out the battles on the sideline. As these guys are all in it to win it, sitting one out is not something they aspire.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather really, as the sun was out and temperatures were reaching close to 30 degrees Celsius. Imagine having to sit in a hot race car in a full flame-resistant suit, I could think of a few more comfortable places to be really. All in a day’s work for guys like Jakub Przygoński though, as he is no stranger to the scorching heat that riders encounter during the Dakar Rally.
The riders were to line up at the back of the track, out of sight from the spectators, only to enter their line of sight well after initiation into the first corner. While the drivers awaited their turn, the sun kept beating down on them.
Martin Richards from the United Kingdom might not have been used to this weather, as the weather in the UK is often quite dreadful. He still had a smile on his face though, ready to score as many points as possible to secure a spot in the Top 32 and be allowed to battle it out for the top spot on the podium.
Usually during qualifying, as a photographer you will try and spot some of the favourites for the podium, but with the level of drivers being as high as it is at Drift Allstars, this was far from an easy task.
Last round’s winner James Deane was obviously out to go for another win. As he managed to qualify as second, just one point behind top qualifier Piotr Wiecek, things were looking good for the young Irish driver. He is known to be very consistent, so whoever would face him in the battles was going to have a challenge on their hands.
And even though Deane himself is still quite young at 22 years of age, he is also mentoring another young talent from Ireland going by the name of Jack Shanahan. The day of the event was actually the day before his 15th birthday! I can’t wait to see how Jack will continue to develop throughout his career.
Another well known driver by the name of Christer Halvorsen was also ready to do battle. He’s had a rough year so far, but I’m happy to see he is still determined to finish the year strong with his sexy Gulf themed S15.
It seems that in most professional drift competitions, Drift Allstars included, the V8 power plant is slowly taking over. Then there’s the occasional in-line six, often putting their power to the rear wheels of a BMW. Some purists might still scream murder, but these guys have good reasons to swap out whatever is powering their car for something that will give them loads of reliable power and more importantly the torque that these drivers need.
This is where Dmitriy Illyuk comes into the picture. No V8 for this man, not even a six-cylinder… No, this man is still running an SR20! Screaming loudly, this engine seems to be able to take a beating and just keep on going.
What Dmitriy’s badass S13 might lack in raw power compared to some of the other cars in the pack, he makes up for in driving style. Absolutely balls to the wall and keeping as much momentum as possible into the corner, he is giving guys with a lot more horsepower a run for their money. He has told us though that he and his team are working on a new engine, but I’m not going to ruin the surprise. It’ll be good though, I can tell you that much.
Now I could go on and on about all the great drivers that make up the roster at Drift Allstars, but let’s leave some for next time. We need to get on with the battles now!
Already during practice the day before there were some drivers getting in the rhythm for battles and as soon as the actual battles kicked off, I was blown away. The proximity these guys were getting while still at high speeds were the exact kind of spectacle that makes professional drifting so great to witness.
Engines screaming as they’re put under immense stress, the wheel speed increasing to a point where big clouds of smoke come pouring out the rear tires, sometimes completely blinding the chasing driver. This is exactly what brought me to this sport, this controlled chaos!
As the battles went on the field of drivers coming back onto the track got smaller and smaller as this was a straight-forward single elimination bracket. Lose your battle and you’re out, no second chances.
This did make sure though that all of the drivers gave it their all, pushing their machines but also themselves to the absolute limit.
As the sun was setting, I figured it would be as good a time as any to start making my way to the top of the infamous tower. I had to sacrifice capturing a few of the battles for it, but once I got up there…
… the view was breathtaking! The structure of the tower wasn’t all it used to be though, so while it was swaying in the wind I wasn’t at my most comfortable.
It was definitely worth getting up there though, as it gave anyone that dared venturing to the top a completely new perspective of the action, normally only reserved for people with drones.
After a small struggle to get down again, my feet finally touched the ground and I could go back to shooting from a less scary spot. In the meanwhile we had now reached a point where the battles were incredibly intense, as the drivers could almost taste the champagne and could see themselves jumping on that podium.
Further on in the brackets in quite the upset one of the favourites James Deane was taken out by Estonian driver Harold Valdma. Coincidentally Harold’s E46 is built by the guys at HGK Motorsport, who’s workshop is right next to Biķernieku trase, the track were all of this action was taking place.
Judging from what I could see, the chase run must be one hell of a challenge to be faced with, especially if the lead car is making as much smoke as Fredrik Øksnevad is making here. No visibility whatsoever, no way of knowing how much angle you’re actually at and probably having no idea how close to your opponent you are.
It’s at this moment where the experience of the drivers shines through. Despite the tricky circumstances these gentlemen were able to still get their car exceptionally close the lead car, especially considering the speeds they were reaching.
Getting closer and closer to that final battle, it was still anyone’s game. Would it be one of the international drivers that would take the win, or would it be one of the locals like Janis Eglite that would win in front of his home crowd?
The crowd was the biggest one I’ve seen so far at a drift competition and from what I could tell they were enjoying this as much as I was, which was a lot.
Both young and old were enjoying the show that the drivers were putting on for them. It’s great to the next generation of drift fans being raised here. Who knows, maybe one of them will end up being the next Drift Allstars champion?
After numerous one-more-times we had now reached the final battle of the day. The sun had already disappeared behind the trees of the park next to the track, but there was still just enough light to see these two battle for the win. Would it be Bartosz Stolarski and his S14, one of the most powerful cars of the competition or the local hero Kristaps Blušs?
In the very last battle of the night it was Stolarski who perhaps caved under the pressure Kristaps put him under, spinning out on his lead run and thereby granting the win to Blušs!
It was no surprise that both the crowd and Kristaps went wild. Winning in front of his home crowd was his goal this weekend, and I bet it must’ve felt too good for him to be able to jump on that coveted top step of the podium! And the crowd got what they wanted as well – a local hero winning.
As the sun dropped behind the horizon, so ended this marvellous weekend… or did it?! I don’t really have any pictures that are suitable to show you here, but I can tell you that the Drift Allstars afterparty in club JUST was as crazy fun as the rest of the weekend.
Even though I have only experienced one round of Drift Allstars, it’s not hard to see that this competition will continue to be pivotal in the future of drifting in Europe. Drift Allstars has found a way to turn it all up to eleven!
This certainly won’t be the last time I have visited a Drift Allstars event. It was an honour to be a part of the family there and have never felt so welcome at an event. So to every single person involved in Drift Allstars: Thank you and see you soon!
PS #RIGABABY!
Words and images by Maurice Bergers
2014 Drift Drift-Allstars drifting Maurice Bergers riga round 4Events, Reports
← Weekend Wallpaper: A Drifthunts illustration The hobby that binds us →
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Kuwait votes for parliament amid economic, virus challenges
FILE – This Dec. 16, 2012 file photo shows a general view of Kuwait’s National Assembly. Kuwait, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, is facing a debt crisis. The pandemic has sent the price of oil crashing to all-time lows and pushed Kuwait toward a reckoning with its longtime largesse for its citizens just as a parliamentary election looms in December 2020. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari, File)
KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait voted Saturday for its National Assembly, the first election since the death of its longtime ruling emir and as the oil-rich nation faces serious economic problems under the coronavirus pandemic.
This tiny country’s hundreds of thousands of voters selected lawmakers for 50 seats in the parliament, the freest and most-rambunctious assembly in the Gulf Arab countries. However, Kuwait’s parliament has tamped down on opposition to its ruling Al Sabah family since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that saw demonstrators storm the chamber.
Parliaments typically don’t serve out their full terms in the stalwart U.S. ally, but this one did.
Kuwaitis voted across 102 schools in the nation, which is the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Authorities said masks and social distancing will be required due to the pandemic. Several schools will take those with active cases of the virus, with the sick first receiving permission from the government to vote.
Polls opened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and saw Kuwaitis wearing disposable gloves drop their ballots into clear ballot boxes.
”Life is developing so everything should develop including the election either through parties or blocs,” Kuwaiti voter Issa al-Qallaf said. Major blocs include those backing the ruling family, Islamists and moderate liberals.
The vote came after the death in September of Kuwait’s ruler, the 91-year-old Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, 83, quickly took power without any opposition. The outgoing parliament then approved Sheikh Nawaf’s choice for crown prince, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, the 80-year-old deputy head of Kuwait’s National Guard.
The new parliament will need to make decisions on a number of matters, perhaps none more important that Kuwait’s economy.
This fall, the ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Kuwait for the first time in its history. The finance minister warned the government soon wouldn’t be able to pay salaries. Kuwait’s national bank said the country’s deficit could hit 40% of its gross domestic product this year, the highest level since the financial devastation of the 1990 Iraqi invasion and subsequent Gulf War.
With crude oil prices just above $45 a barrel, other nearby Arab states took on debt, trimmed subsidies or introduced taxes to sustain their spending. Kuwait, however, did none of that.
That’s not to say Kuwait will be begging for aid at international summits anytime soon. The Kuwait Investment Authority holds assets of $533 billion, according to the Las Vegas-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, making it the world’s fourth-largest such fund.
The problem is Kuwait has no legal framework to deficit-spend beyond its current limit of $33 billion. It needs the country’s parliament to grant approval. But lawmakers likely will face a popular backlash as the public fears the money will be lost to corruption amid a series of high-profile cases shaking the country.
“We have to fight corruption by choosing who will represent us inside the National Assembly,” one voter, Azraa al-Rifai, remarked.
Kuwait has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves. The country hosts some 13,500 American troops, many at Camp Arifjan south of Kuwait City, which is also home to the forward command of U.S. Army Central.
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An Evening with C.L.Taylor and Gillian McAllister
Tuesday 9th April 18:30 at Birmingham
The Evidence Against You (Paperback)
Waterstones Birmingham are very excited to be joined for the evening by C.L.Taylor and Gillian McAllister, discussing their latest novels.
C.L. Taylor is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her psychological thrillers have sold over a million copies in the UK alone, been translated into over twenty languages, and optioned for television. C.L. Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and son.
Her latest novel is Sleep;
All Anna wants is to be able to sleep.
But crushing insomnia, terrifying night terrors and memories of that terrible night are making it impossible. If only she didn’t feel so guilty…
Each of the guests have a secret, but one of them is lying – about who they are and why they're on the island. There's a murderer staying in the Bay View hotel. And they've set their sights on Anna.
Gillian McAllister has been writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated with an English degree and lives in Birmingham, where she previously worked as a lawyer. Her debut novel Everything But The Truth was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.
Her latest novel is The Evidence Against You;
It's the day her father will be released from jail. Izzy English has every reason to feel conflicted - he's the man who gave her a childhood filled with happy memories. But he has also just served seventeen years for the murder of her mother.
Now, Izzy's father sends her a letter. He wants to talk, to defend himself against each piece of evidence from his trial. But should she give him the benefit of the doubt? Or is her father guilty as charged, and luring her into a trap? McAllister’s professional legal expertise gives her storylines a depth and accuracy that make her psychological suspense novels grippingly tense and authentic.
We hope you can join us for the evening.
Tickets cost £3 and are deductible from purchase of either book at the event.
Tuesday 9th April 18:30
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Ex-husband of Biden accuser Tara Reade said she told him of being sexual harassed: report
A new court document obtained Thursday by a newspaper in California shows Tara Reade, the woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, told her ex-husband she was sexually harassed while working in then-Senator Biden's office.
According to the document, which was obtained by the Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California, Reade's husband at the time, Theodore Dronen, said Reade told him about "a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s office."
The document, which was filed in the California Superior Court and dated March 25, 1996, neither says who committed the harassment nor does it reference Reade's more recent allegation of sexual assault.
Dronen says Reade struck a deal with the chief of staff in Biden's office and "left her position."
The experience had a "very traumatic effect" on Reade, Dronen wrote.
Biden has repeatedly denied Reade's allegation.
"This claim is simply not true. It did not happen," he said at a virtual fundraiser last week.
Biden has also requested records of any alleged harassment complaints filed by Reade against him in the Senate to be released, though the Secretary of the Senate said Monday her office did not have the authority to release any Senate personnel records.
Dronen's filing had been written while contesting a restraining order Reade filed against him after filing for divorce, the Tribune reported.
Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement, "more and more inconsistencies keep emerging" in Reade's allegation, and while women "must receive the benefit of the doubt" and be able to come forward and share their stories, "these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity."
Ted Kaufman, chief of staff to Biden at the time, told the Tribune, "I do not remember her, and had she come to me in any of these circumstances, I would remember her. But I do not, because she did not."
Reade called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race in a preview of an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly released Thursday.
"I wish he would (withdraw from the race)," Reade said. "But he won't. But I wish he would. That's how I feel emotionally."
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Editorial: Focus on restraining Trump until he's gone
Star Tribune editorial board
In the aftermath of a shocking, destructive invasion of the U.S. Capitol by domestic terrorists who were incited to action by President Donald Trump, Americans have some hard truths to face.
This is a president who has gone rogue. The top priority now for Vice President Mike Pence, Congress and other leaders must be how best to protect this country from a leader who is demonstrably unfit for office. They must present a unified front to restrain a president whose lack of remorse and unwillingness to take responsibility for what happened are ample evidence that his judgment cannot be trusted.
Trump issued a 4 a.m. statement, shortly after Congress affirmed the election results, saying that he would go along with the transition on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. But there is no guarantee he will do so, and there is much damage he could do in the coming days.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, soon to be majority leader, have called on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Failing that, both leaders support impeachment. Certainly there is justification for both, but neither is likely. Impeachment is a process designed to move slowly. The 25th Amendment can be swift, but it requires a degree of unity and purpose that may be difficult to achieve.
That said, there are a growing number of former Trump acolytes finally acknowledging openly how far off the rails this president has gone. Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said in a CNBC interview that Trump has become increasingly erratic.
“Clearly he is not the same as he was eight months ago, and certainly the people advising him are not the same as they were eight months ago,” he said, “and that leads to a dangerous sort of combination as you saw yesterday.” Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who left office recently, issued a statement calling Trump’s conduct a “betrayal of his office.”
Trump’s actions have triggered a wave of resignations that now include at least one Cabinet member, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Reportedly there are high-level discussions among top Republicans urging aides and others to stay and do what they can to maintain some semblance of order. That is the proper course. Trump in his current state should not be in the position to further erode norms by installing those even more willing to do his bidding.
Congress must also move quickly to conduct a thorough and unflinching investigation into the stunning failure of U.S. Capitol Police to secure the building and protect those inside from a raging mob. No weak protestations of being “unprepared” or “overwhelmed” will suffice here.
What should have been an impregnable fortress on a day when this country’s most important leaders were gathered to certify an election was exposed as being almost comically easy to crack. The world will not soon forget the sight of the mob scaling the walls, breaking windows and rampaging through the Capitol. Steps must be taken to ensure there is no repeat episode. Ever.
Those involved in the insurrection and their accomplices should be tracked down and prosecuted. That includes the West Virginia Republican lawmaker who, incredibly, was part of the mob that rushed the Capitol.
We commend Minnesota U.S. Attorney, Erica MacDonald, a Trump appointee, for her clear and unequivocal denouncement of the attack and declaration that “if we can prove you traveled from MN to DC to commit violent criminal acts, then you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Finally, while Congress did finally certify the election results, 147 lawmakers, hours after the invasion, still fed into the delusion by voting against certification and fomenting further doubt about an election outcome that has been clear since November.
Erica Macdonald
Editorial: The second stimulus is welcome, but it won't be enough
After holding America’s fragile and weakened economy hostage for days as he dithered and waffled, President Donald Trump at last signed a $900…
Editorial: Thank you to everyone who made a COVID vaccine in 2020 possible
For the past eight years, Dec. 14 has marked one of the most tragic moments in recent American history. On this day in 2012, a disturbed young…
Editorial: Miguel Cardona is a strong pick for education secretary
In an open letter to educators two weeks ago, Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona addressed the challenge of opening schools in …
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Home Breaking Commuters risk bushes in your life in the Sardines
Commuters risk bushes in your life in the Sardines
The lifting of the Lockdown in London – commuters risk their lives in the “rolling sardine cans”millions of Londoners to get back to work, and with the U-Bahn. Their operation is back up, although the Virus is continuing to rage out of grass.Peter Nonnenmacher from London29 Kommentare29Dichtestress despite pandemic: commuters exit the metro Station, West Ham in East London.Photo: Justin setter field ()
These days, and many Londoners are facing a serious decision. They remain in their places of work, though, the government advises you to go back to work? Or you risk, in the gradually back-filling underground shafts of the Thames, the metropolis of plug in but still no car or bike will help you more? For the coming week, it is expected that more people will try in the largest city in Western Europe, back to their farms, come in thousands of offices or on the construction sites on the vast city-terrain. Encouraged they have been by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
How do you come to work, remains up to you. Recommended for you Johnson only, instead of using public transport rather the car or the bike or go on foot. But only few of them have to work so close that you could get there on foot or hinradeln. Many live in the suburbs or completely outside of the city.
And Parking for cars, especially affordable, there are in the center of the Nine-million-metropolis hardly any. In addition, not everyone has a private vehicle. Most of those who work in London, with suburban trains, buses or the Tube called subway to work. Alone in the subway with their wide route network transported before the start of the Lockdown on a typical weekday, four million passengers, a large part of it during the rush hour.
The silence in the maze
With the decline in passenger numbers by 95 per cent since the Lockdown, the forced reduction in the number of trains and the closure of three dozen allegedly the rank and file of U-Bahn stations, it had become in the Labyrinth of the Underground pretty quiet in the last seven weeks. One of the most popular Videos in April, the one carelessly on an empty-swept railway platform around dancing have been mice couple.
On Monday now, but the System should be moved back to at least 70 percent of its capacity is high. And although, so far, on most of the lines are still relatively calm things are already pictures circulating that show densely Packed platforms and fully occupied compartments. In a train on the Victoria Line, in which a passenger lost consciousness, there was a veritable Chaos, because all of the passengers immediately feared that the Virus was the cause.
“Even if all the trains and buses run again, it will not give enough space.”
Grant shapp’s, British Minister of transport,
the help of the highest Wait, Affected can expect in this location. Premier Johnson has advised you to decide on a means of transport and transport routes easy “healthy British sense” to prevail. Among other things, U-Bahn passengers have been recommended by the government, “not to touch anything” and “from each other avert” during the journey.
self-transport must give the Minister Grant shapp’s that London underground could carry to act in strict compliance with the social legislation and social distancing “just ten percent,” the previous number to pass. “Even if all the trains and buses run again, it will not give enough space,” says shapp’s – which is why the Minister of transport establishes his fellow citizens to heart, “to be sensible” and to avoid public transport in London for the foreseeable future.
the Minister would never take the Bus
Him self, confessed shapp’s, it would currently no one in a metro and a Bus. And the Ministerial calculation is likely to be quite realistic. To a maximum of ten percent of previous capacity of a team of researchers that investigated on the example of the U-Bahn-Station Clapham North that there for the morning rush hour, only hundreds instead of thousands of passengers per hour wegkämen the train out of the Station, if the passengers comply with the seat the required distance and during the journey, no one is.
That would be computed by the Team, mean that up waiting at the entrance to the Station is Clapham North, a 1.8 kilometre-long queue of 900 would be able to form, almost to the two stations distant station, Clapham South. A regular traffic across London would not be at all possible – unless you ignored the safety regulations and considerable risks.
Many commuters put at the beginning and end of each day of your life.”
Stefan Stern, transport researchers
Also calls to the Relevant, travel time and route after careful Consideration, to choose not to help further in the opinion of the critics. “Many commuters have no choice, in terms of start time and Route,” says the author Stefan Stern. “So you put at the beginning and end of each day of your life.”
trade Union threatens with a standstill
Especially people with low income who do not own a car or many miles away from you live far from your workplace would be affected and “” adds the star. The many people from the “shadow area” of the British capital are similar: While the well-to-do can take classes recently with the car to a game of Golf to the Golf course, to London, the fear for their existence, in spite of all the dangers in the “roll the sardines in the underground constraints of day-to-day cans”.
the danger of the underground staff and bus drivers, many of whom have already fallen to the Virus to the victim. The rail workers unions have threatened that’s why on the occasion of the easing of the Lockdown already work stoppages requested. If the responsible do not succeed to provide enough security, trade Union leader Mick Cash said, “the trains are still just”.
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Amy Purdy: 'I Feared I’d Never Be Able To Work Out Again After Rhabdo'
The Paralympian bounced back from a terrifying diagnosis.
It was October 2016, and decorated snowboarder Amy Purdy was about to start training for the Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang. "I decided I was going to do a really hard workout a few days earlier to kick myself into gear,” the author of On My Own Two Feet, motivational speaker, and season 19 runner-up on Dancing With The Stars remembers.
That day at CrossFit, she did pullup after pullup despite her arm muscles giving out multiple times. “I didn’t think about how I’d taken the last couple weeks off because I was doing a lot of motivational speaking and traveling, so I just kept going,” Amy says.
The next morning, she couldn’t fully straighten her arms and noticed swelling. That was enough to send her to the hospital.
The diagnosis: rhabdomyolysis in her arms.
Rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo for short, happens when you work your muscles too hard, causing muscle fibers to die and release contents into the bloodstream—a dangerous scenario that can actually lead to kidney failure or cardiac arrest.
A post shared by AMY PURDY (@amypurdygurl)
The condition is devastating for the fittest of athletes—but it was all the more terrifying for Amy, who lost both of her legs to bacterial meningitis at age 19, and underwent a kidney transplant as well.
The jarring diagnosis changed the entire course of last year for Amy. “You expect to be your strongest going into the Games, and I had to completely work my way back,” says Amy.
The para-snowboarder missed out on training and competitions that would prime her for the Olympics throughout most of the last season. And then in June, she ended up with a secondary injury: brachial neuritis, or major inflammation down the nerves of both her arms. “I think it was brought on because the rhabdo depleted my musculature a bit, and then all of a sudden my nerves got injured,” she says.
Whatever the cause, it was another blow to Amy's Paralympic plans. “That’s when I really questioned if I was going to be able to make it to the Games,” she said.
"There are no rules, no one set path to success.”
What it took to get her there was a major shift in perspective. “As an athlete, I loved really pushing my body. That's kind of what we do. We push to a point of failure, and keep pushing because that’s how we grow,” she says. “After I got rhabdo, I had no idea what my body could handle.”
Amy nixed the CrossFit and eased back into working out, starting with physical therapy for mobility then moving to one-pound weights for a month before upping the weight by just one pound, then another.
“I never really exceeded more than five-pound weights,” she says. “But after eight months of being consistent, without over-pushing it, my body was quite strong. It was amazing to see how much muscle you can build with such light weights. I only started strength training, lightly, a few months ago.”
Beyond her struggles in the gym, Amy was facing some serious mental obstacles. “Yes, my body was going through some major pain and discomfort and issues, but the fear of all of it made it even worse,” she says. “The fear of, ‘am I going to be able to workout again?’ That's a huge part of my life. I had to decide to take it day-by-day.”
But even as she headed into the Paralympic trials in November, she questioned whether she was doing the right thing. “Snowboarding is very high-risk, there are a lot of injuries, falls, big jumps, speed—my biggest fear was that I'm fine as long as I'm standing up, but what if I fall and re-injure my arms?” she says.
And then she did fall, at a competition in November. But she got back up again. “That’s when I started to feel confident that everything was going to be okay, as long as I stayed in the moment,” she says. “The only way to get rid of anxiety is to be in the here and now. So I took it day-by-day and it led me to the Games, where I felt strong and healthy and ready to go.”
Not just ready to go—ready enough to nab a silver medal in snowboard-cross and a bronze medal in banked slalom.
Still, post-Paralympics, Amy is sticking with her new habits. “I do love weight training, I'm just a lot more cautious on how hard I push myself,” she says. “I now tend to stop well before I hit my breaking point. What's interesting is I don't think it matters one way or another—I think if you’re conscious about how you're working your body and you're consistent, strength and fitness will come. You don't have to push yourself to the brink of injury in order to be fit.”
That’s one of the messages Amy hopes to send through her social media platforms, her public speaking, and her work with partners like Team Bridgestone. “I feel like what I've learned in my life is that there are no rules, no one set path to success,” she says. “If you're passionate enough and you're willing to work hard enough, anything's possible. It might not look how you expected it to look by the time you get there, but if you can be flexible to the changes that come your way, the possibilities are endless.”
Amy is practicing what she preaches—especially when it comes to looking forward to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. “As I was going through this injury, I thought that if I made it to this Olympics, that’s it, I'm retiring,” she says. “But as I started getting closer to the Games and started feeling stronger and riding better, I was having so much fun that I can't say necessarily that I'm ready to retire. Suddenly, I'm like, I feel great, I'm ready to keep this going.”
Ashley Mateo Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more.
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Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes
Sports center Hector Berlioz
© David Boureau
Dietmar Feichtinger established his firm in Paris in 1993. With about thirty employees between Paris and Vienna the team operates mainly in Europe. DFA has built a strong reputation for its inventive structures and its investigative approach to design. Its work links both architecture and engineering whilst exploring the dynamic between these two disciplines. In a constant strive DFA is looking for integrating environmental and sustainable development, in an elegant and sensitive architecture, respectful of nature and humans. Dietmar Feichtinger is, among six nominations for the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award, internationally honored with architecture awards and publications for excellence in design. In 2014 he was appointed permanent member of the Academy of Arts Berlin.
www.feichtingerarchitectes.com
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Home Blog World Rainbow News Commune Hotels Partners with World Rainbow Hotels
Commune Hotels Partners with World Rainbow Hotels
Commune Hotels & Resorts, the international lifestyle hotel group comprising the Joie de Vivre, Thompson Hotels and tommie brands, has partnered with World Rainbow Hotels, a global brand of certified gay and lesbian welcoming hotels.
By partnering with World Rainbow Hotels (WRH), Commune Hotels reminds the LGBT community that its Joie de Vivre and Thompson hotels welcome all guests. WRH is the world’s first and only global consortia for LGBT friendly hotels, spanning a global collection of over 1,200 gay and lesbian welcoming hotels, which are bookable on the GDS and online, by both consumers and the travel trade.
With a leading portfolio of transformative, boldly innovative boutique hotel brands, Commune Hotels adds to the WRH collection several properties located in the USA, Canada and United Kingdom, including popular, gay-friendly destinations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, London, Toronto and Miami, where Thompson Miami Beach, designed by A-list designer Martin Brudnizki, will open on November 21.
Nicolas Wijnants, Brand Director for World Rainbow Hotels, stated:
“Each hotel in the WRH collection is carefully reviewed according to a set of specific criteria, including its location, features and category as well as the hotel’s knowledge of the local gay scene and its current involvement with the LGBT community. Both Thompson Hotels and the Joie de Vivre Hotels brands represent perfectly the essence of what the gay traveller is looking for in a hotel. Luxury is important, but so is comfort, personality, local knowledge, a warm welcome and privacy.”
Peter Gamez, Vice President of Global Sales for Commune Hotels & Resorts, added:
“Joie de Vivre Hotels and Thompson Hotels are long-time supporters of the LGBT community. World Rainbow Hotels’ recognition of so many of our hotels reaffirms our commitment to deliver one-of-a-kind experiences to all guests. We look forward to continuing to welcome LGBT locals and travellers at our properties, including those soon-to-open in Miami Beach, New York City and Chicago.”
A local gay scene travel guide entitled “Out & About,” will also be available at each Commune hotel represented under the World Rainbow Hotels flag.
About Commune Hotels & Resorts
Formed in October 2011, Commune Hotels & Resorts is an international, multi-brand lifestyle hotel management company which manages and operates Thompson Hotels, a luxury lifestyle brand; Joie de Vivre Hotels, a collection of independently branded boutique hotels; and tommie, a new, youthfully-minded brand launching in 2015. The San Francisco-based company manages more than 40 hotels and resorts across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and is expanding its portfolio while establishing a presence in Mexico.
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California to end its use of private, for-profit prisons
by: DON THOMPSON and AMY TAXIN, Associated Press
This Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, photo shows the Adelanto U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) a Florida-based company specializing in privatized corrections in Adelanto, Calif. California is banning the use of for-profit, private detention facilities, including those the federal government uses for immigrants awaiting deportation hearings. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday, Oct. 11, 2019 he had signed a measure into law that helps fulfill his promise to end the use of private prisons.(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will ban the use of for-profit, private detention facilities, including those under contract to the federal government to hold immigrants awaiting deportation hearings, under a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he had signed.
The Democratic governor said the measure helps fulfill a promise he made to end private prison use, which he said contributes to over-incarceration and does “not reflect our values.”
The state’s prison system was already phasing them out, despite having to comply with an inmate population cap imposed by federal judges.
Immigrant advocates have praised the bill authored by Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, which they said would put an end to almost all immigration detention in California in the next year.
However, one private prison company said it expects most if not all of the law would fail a legal challenge, particularly requiring the federal government to end its contracts.
“States cannot lawfully pass legislation mandating the closure of federal facilities that displease them on the basis of ideological differences,” The Geo Group of Adelanto, California, said in a statement.
California has been at the forefront of resisting President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport those who are in the country illegally and has a so-called “sanctuary state” law that restricts police from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration enforcement actions.
The new measure prohibits the state corrections department from renewing contracts starting next year and from housing any state inmates in private, for-profit prisons starting in 2028.
“We are sending a powerful message that we vehemently oppose the practice of profiteering off the backs of Californians in custody,” Bonta said.
California previously halted growth in local government contracts to house immigration detainees. After that, populous Orange County south of Los Angeles and other local governments ended their contracts to hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Four dedicated immigration detention facilities remain in California with an average daily population of about 3,700 detainees. ICE has previously said the largest one, run by The Geo Group in Adelanto, California, has a temporary contract set to expire in 2020, as does another facility in Bakersfield, California.
ICE’s acting press secretary, Bryan Cox, said immigration enforcement would still take place, noting that California accounts for less than 10 percent of the agency’s detention capacity. He said the impact “would be felt primarily by residents of California who would theoretically have to travel greater distances to visit friends and family in custody.”
Christina Fialho, co-founder of Freedom for Immigrants, said she doesn’t believe ICE could legally extend the contracts ending in 2020.
“Within the next year, private immigration detention will be abolished for good in California,” she said, adding that rural Yuba County in northern California still has a contract to detain immigrants but may also soon end it. “This is huge.”
Yolo County supervisors this week ended its decade-old contract with the federal government to house troubled immigrant children in a facility west of Sacramento that is one of two in the nation for teens who entered the country unaccompanied by parents and are considered dangerous to themselves or others.
The move in California comes as ICE has expanded immigration detention across the U.S. amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
California isn’t the only state pushing back, Fialho said, adding that Illinois also passed similar legislation and that New Mexico and Minnesota are weighing proposals.
The bill “will deal a critical blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to further expand its system of immigration detention, especially as other states follow our lead,” she said.
California’s corrections department last month ended one of its four contracts with The GEO Group to run three male prisons and one for women that that together house about 1,600 inmates. The remaining contracts expire in 2023.
The federal receiver who controls medical care in California state prisons recently found inadequate health care at all four privately run prisons, citing problems with their policies and procedures, training, health care grievance process, emergency medical response and physician case reviews. The deficiencies are being reviewed again, with results expected in December.
In 2006, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger started sending California inmates to private out-of-state prisons to relieve crowding in prisons where nearly 20,000 inmates were bunked three-deep in gymnasiums and dayrooms. The state then relied on the private prisons for years to help meet the federal population cap.
But the last inmate housed out-of-state returned to California in June as the state ended those contracts. The new law allows the department to renew or extend the existing private prison contracts to comply with the court-ordered population cap until 2028.
The state’s inmate population has been declining under several measures easing criminal sentences approved by voters and state lawmakers in recent years. Inmates housed in private prisons now make up less than 1% of the prisons’ overall 125,000 inmate population.
A 2018 law already directed the corrections department to close male private in-state facilities as the state’s prison population declined.
Taxin reported from Tustin, California.
CORRECTS summary and story to show that federal contracts expire next year.
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Essay by PaperNerd Contributor, College, Undergraduate, April 2001
download word file, 29 pages download word file, 29 pages0.0 0 votes
Keywords Cars.com, Ford Motor Company, Detroit, eldest son, MBA
John DeLorean was the eldest son of an automobile foundry worker, which was in Detroit. He spent all of his younger years growing up around cars with his father working at Ford Motor Company. John had a very rough childhood, but after graduating from high school he attended Lawrence Institute of Technolo- gy and came out of there with a scholarship. After graduating he went on to the Chrysler Institute to get his masters degree, and later went to school at nights so he could complete his MBA. After all John's educati- on cars DeLorean worked as an insurance salesman. Soon after he started he left and took employment with Packard. While John was with Packard he helped develop the Ultramatic, which was the first transmission to use an aluminum housing.
After working a Packard not too long Semon Knudsen, a GM legend, picked up DeLorean to become a chief engineer for Pontiac.
John Hay Residence
DeLorean DMC12
Knudsen had planned to have he and DeLorean make cars to get "the young crowd"ÃÂ, to buy. So DeLorean put a big engine into the Pontiac Tempest, the new creation became known as the G.T.O. They created the G.T.O. without being approved by GM management, because DeLorean thought that that GM would throw his great idea away. The G.T.O. was expected to fail miserably, but when it came out in 1964 the G.T.O sold over 31,00 and 312,000 over the next four years. The sales of the G.T.O. was said to save the Pontiac division (GM was unhappy that DeLorean didn't get it approved). Because of the G.T.O.'s great success he was promoted to General Manager of Chevrolet in 1969. DeL- orean's next ingenious idea was to put rubber blocks to make the car much quieter and improve the ride.
Making Chevrolet a much nicer and...
John Delorean. (2001, April 08). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 15:42, January 15, 2021, from https://www.writework.com/essay/john-delorean
WriteWork contributors. "John Delorean" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 08 April, 2001. Web. 15 Jan. 2021.
WriteWork contributors, "John Delorean," WriteWork.com, https://www.writework.com/essay/john-delorean (accessed January 15, 2021)
Delorean project management
... DeLorean Motor Company, John Delorean was guilty of making several significant missteps. Ex-Chrysler Eugene Cafiero was not a hands-on president that was needed at the time. DeLorean had problems with his car's engineering ...
20 pages 71 Dec/2008 0.0
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Wyden Puts Hold on Intelligence Authorization Bill
Citing free speech and due process concerns, Senator Wyden published the following statement into the Congressional Record outlining his reasons for placing a hold on the Intelligence Authorization bill:
M. President, the Senate is being asked today to approve the Intelligence Authorization bill for 2013 by unanimous consent. I believe that significant changes need to be made to this bill before it is passed, so I object to this unanimous consent request.
When the Senate Intelligence Committee approved this bill in July, I was the only member of the committee to vote against it, and I would like to take a few minutes to explain my concerns, so that my colleagues who are not on that committee can get a better sense of what this debate is about.
This bill contains a number of worthwhile provisions, and I wish that I had been able to support it. Unfortunately, it also contains several provisions that I find very troubling, all of them located in Title V of the bill. These provisions are all intended to reduce unauthorized disclosures of classified information, but I am concerned that they will lead to less-informed public debate about national security issues, and also undermine the due process rights of intelligence agency employees, without actually enhancing national security.
I agree with my colleagues that unauthorized disclosures of national security information, which are also known as “leaks,” can be a serious problem. Unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information can jeopardize legitimate military and intelligence operations, and even put lives at risk. So I think it can be entirely appropriate for Congress to look for ways to help the executive branch protect information that intelligence agencies want to keep secret, as long as Congress is careful not to do more harm than good. I myself spent four years working on legislation to increase the criminal penalty for people who are convicted of deliberately exposing covert agents, and I am proud to say that with help from a number of my Republican and Democratic colleagues, this legislation was finally signed into law in 2010.
So I’m all for Congress recognizing that leaks can be a serious problem, and for doing things to show the men and women of the US intelligence community that we recognize the seriousness of this issue. The problem, though, is that Congress can’t actually legislate this problem away, and attempts to do so can have serious negative consequences.
One of the best analyses I have seen of the problem of unauthorized disclosures was a report published last year by the National Intelligence University. The report observed that this problem has been around for several decades, and noted specifically that “The relative consistency in the number of unauthorized disclosures over the past 30 years demonstrates their persistent nature, independent of which political party controls the White House or Congress.” This report, like a number of previous reports on the subject, also suggested that because it is very difficult to identify government employees responsible for disclosing classified information to the media, unauthorized disclosures are not a problem that can be solved with legislation.
Again, this doesn’t mean that Congress shouldn’t try to find ways to help the executive branch when it can. But it does mean that Congress and the public should be generally skeptical of anti-leaks bills, and remember that not everything that is done in the name of stopping leaks is necessarily wise policy.
In particular, I think Congress should be extremely skeptical of any anti-leaks bills that threaten to encroach upon the freedom of the press, or that would reduce access to information that the public has a right to know.
As most of my colleagues are aware, my father was a journalist who reported on national security issues. Among other things, he wrote what many consider to be the definitive account of the Bay of Pigs invasion, as well as an authoritative account of how the US came to build and use the first atomic bomb. Accounts like these are vital to the public’s understanding of national security issues. Without transparent and informed public debate on foreign policy and national security topics, American voters would be ill-equipped to elect the policymakers who make important decisions in these areas.
Congress, too, would be much less effective in its oversight if members did not have access to informed press accounts on foreign policy and national security topics. And while many members of Congress don’t like to admit it, members often rely on the press to inform them about problems that congressional overseers have not discovered on their own. I have been on the Senate Intelligence Committee for twelve years now, and I can recall numerous specific instances where I found out about serious government wrongdoing – such as the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program, or the CIA’s coercive interrogation program – only as a result of disclosures by the press.
With all of that in mind, I am particularly concerned about sections 505 and 506 of this bill, both of which would limit the flow of unclassified information to the press and to the public. Section 505 would prohibit any government employee with a Top Secret, compartmented security clearance from, and I quote, “entering into any contract or other binding agreement” with, quote, “the media” to provide “analysis or commentary” concerning intelligence activities for a full year after that employee leaves the government. This provision would clearly lead to less-informed public debate on national security issues. News organizations often rely on former government officials to help explain complex stories or events, and I think it is entirely appropriate for former officials to help educate the public in this way. I am also concerned that prohibiting individuals from providing “commentary” could be an unconstitutional encroachment on free speech. For example, if a retired CIA Director wishes to publish an op-ed commenting on a public policy debate, I see no reason to try to ban him from doing so, even if he has been retired less than a year.
I understand my colleagues’ desire to prohibit unauthorized disclosures by retired officials, but these officials are already legally bound not to disclose classified information that they learned while in government service. And I would also note that this bill does not define who is and who isn’t a member of “the media,” and that this ambiguity could present a variety of problems. When this bill was being considered in committee, I suggested that we get feedback from outside groups before we voted on it, so that we could address problems like this, and I hope that the committee will take that step in the future.
Section 506 would also lead to a less-informed debate on national security issues, by prohibiting nearly all intelligence agency employees from providing briefings to the press, unless those employees give their names and provide the briefing on the record. The bill makes an exception for agency directors and deputy directors, and their public affairs offices, but no one else. It seems to me that authorized, unclassified background briefings from intelligence agency analysts and experts are a useful way to help inform the press and the public about a wide variety of issues, and there will often be good reasons to withhold the full names of the experts giving these briefings. I haven’t seen any evidence that prohibiting the intelligence agencies from providing these briefings would benefit national security in any way, so I see no reason to limit the flow of information in this manner.
The third provision that I am most concerned about is section 511, which would require the Director of National Intelligence to establish an administrative process under which he and the heads of the various intelligence agencies would have the authority to take away pension benefits from an intelligence agency employee (or a former employee) if the DNI or the agency head “determines” that the employee has knowingly violated his or her nondisclosure agreement and disclosed classified information.
I am concerned that the Director of National Intelligence himself has said that this provision would not be a significant deterrent to leaks, and that it would neither help protect sensitive national security information nor make it easier to identify and punish actual leakers. Beyond these concerns about the provision’s effectiveness, I am also concerned that giving intelligence agency heads broad new authority to take away the pensions of individuals who haven’t been formally convicted of any wrongdoing could pose serious problems for the due process rights of intelligence professionals, particularly when the agency heads themselves haven’t told Congress how they would interpret and implement this authority. As many of my colleagues will guess, I’m especially concerned about the rights of whistleblowers who report waste, fraud and abuse to Congress or Inspectors General.
I outlined these due process concerns in more detail in the committee report that accompanied this bill, so I won’t restate them all here. I will note, though, that I am particularly confused by the fact that section 511 creates a special avenue of punishment that only applies to accused leakers who have worked for an intelligence agency at some point in their careers. There are literally thousands of employees at the Departments of Defense, State and Justice, as well as the White House, who have access to sensitive national security information. I don’t see a clear justification for singling out intelligence community employees with this provision, when there is no apparent evidence that these employees are responsible for a disproportionate number of leaks. And I am concerned that it will be harder to attract qualified individuals to work for intelligence agencies if Congress creates the perception that intelligence officers have fewer due process rights than other government employees.
While I have a number of smaller concerns regarding the language of these anti-leaks provisions, the issues that I have just laid out represent my central concerns, and I hope that my colleagues now have a better sense of why I oppose this bill. I would add that my view seems to be widely shared outside of Congress, and that when USA Today ran an editorial criticizing these anti-leaks provisions, they couldn’t find a single senator who was willing to publicly defend them.
I know that the sponsors of this bill have worked hard on it, and I am still happy to sit down with them at any time to discuss my concerns in more detail, and help them make the major changes that I believe must be made before this authorization bill moves forward.
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5 Actionable Lessons from an Award Winning Sales Manager
Each year the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management (ISMM) holds its Annual Awards Dinner in London to recognize and celebrate excellence amongst UK sales professionals. Among the winners this year was Helen Peake and her team at Yell, who were awarded Sales Team of the Year, Over 50 Employees. We caught up with Helen to talk about her experiences and get her tips on managing and incentivizing a winning sales team.
Congratulations on your award win! Could you please tell us a bit about what you do?
I have worked at Yell for nearly twenty years now, starting as a sales person myself before moving to manage a team of eight. When I first started, we were selling print space in the Yellow Pages – now the role has very much evolved with the rise of digital. As well as the Yellow Pages, we sell digital products like banner advertising, space on Yell.com and even bespoke websites. It has been a constant learning curve.
You’ve won recognition from the ISMM as the best sales team for a company with over 50 employees. What insights can you share about successfully managing a sales team?
What’s really important when you’re managing people is to approach them as individuals. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re being ‘sheep dipped’ – that everyone in the team is being treated the same by a manager who doesn’t understand what motivates each individual and what stage they’re at in their career. In our team we have lots of very different (and strong!) personality types.
To lead a team, you need to both manage people individually, recognizing their own personal strengths, and then engage everyone with a collective team goal. That way, each person fulfills their potential and helps the team to push for success.
How do you ensure that your team achieves its goals?
My team agrees that they value clear direction. As a manager, there are always targets and objectives to drive and deliver and if I shared everything with the team, I believe it would give them too much information to contend with. It’s better to filter the objectives down to what will hit targets and ultimately make money, and then communicate this to the team to provide clear focus.
I think it’s better to have milestones, breaking targets down into small chunks. Big targets can be intimidating; a view my salespeople share. I believe it’s better to think of them in terms of what needs to be done this week, then this month – that makes targets look and feel achievable.
What is your approach to staff retention?
Retention of key colleagues is absolutely critical. When someone leaves a team, it upsets the balance of people and destabilizes the group.
People ultimately like stability and security – part of our success at Yell is that many of us have worked together for a long time. It’s more constructive to work with someone who is on-board and within the business, rather than looking at replacing them. It’s vital that people are happy at work in order to get the best out of them – and their manager plays a key role here. I believe it’s true that employees don’t leave a job, they leave a manager.
I would always give 100% to each member of my team, and expect to get 100% back. If one of my team members is having a difficult time, part of my role is to help them through. Keeping the team stable will help to foster long term success for all of us.
How important are incentives?
Incentives are very important for keeping a sales team motivated. I have an old saying: if you put a cauliflower up as a prize, salespeople will compete for it. Sales reps are by nature very competitive – it’s a job that often draws that type of personality. With that in mind, incentives can be a great motivational tool. However, bonuses have to be used in the right way.
If the same people ‘win’ every time then some team members who don’t fit this profile will disengage. There must be a level playing field that allows each individual to succeed and win. Yell believes in the value of incentives. The company offers incentive plans at a corporate level, but team managers are also allocated a small budget to use throughout the year to help drive performance.
For example, we might run a bonus to push the growth of Yell.com. It’s all about considering team objectives and working out what isn’t being incentivized elsewhere.
What has been your biggest success to date?
I’m extremely proud that my team has been awarded the top sales team at Yell for three years running – an impressive result against around 45 teams. Receiving external recognition from BESMA is also extremely rewarding. But what I’m most proud of is the culture we’ve developed within our team. We’ve built a group of dynamic people who don’t give up, and pretty much always meet their targets, even though they might get there in different ways. Ultimately, we know that personal success is built on your team’s overall success.
For me, management is simple to a degree: caring about team members as individuals is critical. Acknowledge your colleagues’ differences and treat them with respect, and you’ll get the same back. Read more about Xactly’s own success at BESMA here.
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East Timor and Australia's oily politics
By Mike Head
Among the most revealing aspects of recent events in East Timor has been the almost complete silence in Australian media and political circles about the two agreements signed by the Australian government last month to secure control over the multi-billion dollar oil and natural gas reserves beneath the Timor Sea.
One had to scour the newspapers for the barest references to the two treaties, tucked away in other stories. No headlines, photographs or commentary greeted either signing ceremony. In the first, on February 10, the Australian representative in Timor and UN Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) chief Sergio Viera de Mello initialled a new Timor Gap Treaty to replace the one that the Hawke Labor government signed with the Suharto regime in 1989. Under the new treaty, the UN has simply supplanted Indonesia as Australia's partner in the Timor Sea Zone of Cooperation.
For the second ceremony on February 29, de Mello was joined by Australian Resources Minister Nick Minchin to sign the so-called Perth Agreement. It clears the way for a $1.4 billion project in the Bayu-Undan field, which is about 500 kilometres north-west of Darwin, capital of Australia's Northern Territory, and 250 km south of Suai in East Timor. Led by the US oil company, Phillips Petroleum, a US-Australian-Japanese-British consortium now has permission to exploit the huge field, which is expected to yield up to 400 million barrels of liquefied petroleum gas. The royalties and taxation revenues will be split between Australia and UNTAET.
The scant mention of the treaties was in stark contrast to 1989 when members of Hawke's cabinet signed the Timor Gap Treaty with their Indonesian counterparts in a champagne ceremony on board a VIP jet flying above the Timor Sea. That event was celebrated with film footage, editorials and front-page headlines.
Why the reticence about the Howard government's successful efforts to secure a dominant stake in the Timor Gap? Because the scramble for oil and gas undermines the government's claims to have sent thousands of troops to East Timor last September for purely humanitarian purposes. It suggests that, in relation to Timor, the old adage applies: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Much has altered since 1989, but one thing has not—the central pillar of Australian policy has remained the siphoning off of the lion's share of the resources under the sea between Timor and Australia.
Officially, Australian policy has shifted from being the West's most ardent defender of the Indonesian regime and its annexation of East Timor, to championing the right of the Timorese people to self-determination. Yet even the form of the Timor treaties highlights the colonial character of the new arrangements. The signatory for East Timor was the UN Administrator, who currently holds complete power over the former Portuguese colony. The treaties will legally bind any incoming East Timorese government. As for the Timorese masses, in whose name Australia has intervened, they have had no say in the arrangements whatsoever.
All in all, the Timor operation has provided an object lesson in the modus operandi of the new “ethical” foreign policy proclaimed by the Western powers as the basis for their interventions into Yugoslavia and Timor last year. Under the pretext of a sudden concern for the lives and well-being of refugees and the oppressed, a new colonialism has emerged, driven entirely by corporate and government appetites for oil and gas revenues, as well as other natural resources, cheap labour, new markets and strategic advantages.
While silence greeted the treaty signings, considerable fanfare was afforded to another event. On February 23, the Australian-led International Force in East Timor (Interfet) officially lowered its flag in Dili, the East Timorese capital, and formally transferred power to UN troops. Speaking at the farewell ceremony, the Australian commander, Major-General Peter Cosgrove, declared that after 157 days Interfet had accomplished its mission. “Peace and security” had largely been restored, he said. Moreover, Interfet had proven that “not all armies are oppressive instruments of an unwelcome administration”.
There was more than a coincidence of timing, however, between Interfet's departure and the signing of the two Timor Gap documents. When Cosgrove and 4,000 Australian military personnel were sent to East Timor last September their real mission was to protect Australian corporate and strategic interests. That was the mission that was largely completed with the Perth Agreement.
In fact, the operation was a continuation of three decades in which Australia's grip over the Timor Gap has been achieved over the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Timorese people. In the first place, in 1965-66 the Australian political, military and intelligence establishment gave full support to General Suharto's bloody coup in Indonesia and backed his dictatorship as a bulwark against the socialist and national liberation struggles in South-East Asia.
Then in 1974-75 the Labor government of Gough Whitlam gave Suharto unmistakable signals—and Whitlam's personal assurances at two summits—that his junta could invade East Timor with impunity. At least 200,000 Timorese people died as a result, through massacres and hunger. Timor's oil, first explored in the late 1960s, became a critical factor. Whitlam's ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Woolcott summed up Canberra's attitude in a diplomatic cable, advising the Labor government that a Timor Gap Treaty “could be more readily negotiated with Indonesia than with Portugal or independent Portuguese Timor”.
These aspirations came to fruition in the 1989 treaty. In return for Indonesia's signature, Australia became the only Western country to extend formal or de jure recognition to East Timor's incorporation as Indonesia's 27th province. Just two years later, while feeling obliged to express regret at the loss of life, the Hawke government endorsed the Suharto regime's blatant cover-up of the 1991 Dili massacre, in which more than 200 unarmed protestors were gunned down by Indonesian troops.
Brought to office in 1996, the Howard government maintained the alliance with the Indonesian regime as long as it possibly could. Throughout most of 1999 it steadfastly defended the Indonesian military's claims that it would ensure the safety of the Timorese people in the lead-up to the autonomy ballot of August 30. After the ballot produced an overwhelming vote for secession, Howard's government quickly reversed its position and campaigned for an Australian-led multinational force to occupy the territory. Cynically, Howard argued that the bloodbath in East Timor had reached such proportions that Australia had to immediately intervene.
Leaked intelligence documents have proven that Australian security forces had reliable reports from aid workers, telecommunications surveillance and other sources as early as November 1998 that the Indonesian generals were arming and backing the militias who were slaughtering whole villages. Howard and his ministers insisted publicly that any military involvement was the work of “rogue elements” outside the control of president Habibie and armed forces commander General Wiranto.
As a direct result of this complicity, the military-organised rampage continued, reaching a climax in the days after the ballot. Towns were devastated, 400,000 people—half the population—were forced to flee their homes, and thousands were killed. Most of the damage was done before the Australian troops arrived. They largely policed an already destroyed country.
This is the true record of official Australian policy in East Timor. At every turning point—from 1974-75 to 1989 and 1999-2000—the guiding principle has been oil and strategic interests. With the breakup of the Suharto regime in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis, an adjustment ultimately had to be made but the shift had no more to do with humanitarian concern than the previous policy.
General Cosgrove was not alone in claiming that his army had a uniquely humane role. His farewell speech echoed the sentiments of the entire political establishment—the Liberals, Nationals, Labor Party, Democrats and Greens—who all supported the intervention.
Even more significantly, it paralleled the claim of the “left” and radical milieu that demanded military intervention. As media commentators noted at the time, “troops out” activists of the Vietnam War era became champions of “troops in”. Their support for the dispatch of the Australian military helped to dampen disquiet and cut off avenues for the expression of any opposition. Along with the Howard government and the other parties, they bear equal responsibility for the outcome.
The 1999 Australian intervention in East Timor
Timor Gap dispute highlights motives behind Australian intervention
US threats over Timor militias raise political tensions in Indonesia
Australian government launches police raids over leaked Timor documents
Documents reveal that Australia urged Indonesia to invade East Timor in 1975
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DOT Social Media
Transportation Tuesday
The USDOT Volpe Center's Annual Project Accomplishments
The world of transportation is undergoing an exciting time of invention and development, and working through cross-modal partnerships and public service, the USDOT’s Volpe Center is at the forefront of innovative solutions that advance national and global transportation systems.
As a leader in transportation systems, analysis, and innovation, the Volpe Center is flexible and responsive to the needs and strategic goals of the USDOT and the priorities of the Secretary of Transportation: safety, infrastructure, innovation, and accountability.
Volpe’s Annual Accomplishments highlights some of their best work from the past year, including advances in safety and automation technologies to developments in resilient infrastructure. Volpe’s collaborative efforts with every USDOT operating administration and key partners is integral in making American transportation more reliable and more efficient.
No Matter How You Get There, Travel Safely this Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving weekend almost upon us, the roads and skies will be filled with record numbers of travelers. The U.S. Department of Transportation would like to provide you with information that will keep you safe this holiday season.
As air fares fall, Americans are increasingly opting for air travel. In fact, 4.27 million Americans will be flying this holiday weekend, up 5.4% from last year. Fortunately, the Department has rolled out its redesigned and streamlined airline consumer website, which advises passengers on aviation consumer and civil rights matters. Be sure to familiarize yourself with this vital information while planning your trip.
Want more #TransportationTuesday info? Visit our webpage.
The Emergency Relief Program
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief program, provides funds for emergency and permanent repairs on Federal-aid highways and roads, tribal transportation facilities, and roads on Federal lands that the Department finds have suffered serious damage because of natural disasters or catastrophic failure from an external cause.
Transportation becomes even more important when communities are struggling to recover from natural disasters and catastrophic failures. Federal support is often key to getting highways and bridges back up and running again. People often rely on these vital links in order to go about their daily lives. Businesses also need them to move their goods and reach their customers. Without this stream of funds, states would be burdened when making these necessary repairs.
Recovery Efforts Underway for Areas Affected by Hurricane Florence
The U.S. Department of Transportation has been working around the clock to support recovery efforts for areas hit by Hurricane Florence. For those returning home, your safety remains the number one priority. Power outages, flooding, and debris left by the storm will continue to make traveling difficult. Please do not drive around barriers or drive through flood waters. If you do not need to be on the roads, stay where you are and leave the path clear for emergency response teams.
The Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has launched an interactive mapping application showing the location of major transportation infrastructure layered over dynamic, near real-time maps. These include weather and flooding information from NOAA, traffic speeds on major roads, and traffic incident information. The tool allows infrastructure managers to update information, and first responders to gain a general understanding of potential regional or multi-state transportation system impacts.
Additionally, check your State DOT’s website for updated road closures and important safety messages.
https://www.ncdot.gov
https://www.scdot.org/
http://www.virginiadot.org/
http://www.dot.ga.gov/
Federal Railroad Administration's Automated Track Inspection Program ATIP
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) helps America's railroads improve railroad quality and safety under statutes mandated by Congress. ATIP cars conduct operational surveys of the United States rail transportation network determining railroad compliance with Federal Track Safety Standards (FTSS). The ATIP data is used to assess the effectiveness of railroads' track maintenance and inspection processes, provides data to assess track safety trends, and provides data to railroads to assist in making repairs and improving safety and maintenance quality. To learn more about the Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) and the advancement of track inspection technologies and improvement of railroad safety, visit https://bit.ly/2wFIVm0
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YDKJ Song Premiere: The Paper Jets Turn the Punk Up on “Go On Go On”
by Ed Magdziak • November 1, 2018 • Arts & Entertainment, Music • Comments (0) • 697
Someone pissed off The Paper Jets. The normally amicable lads of the Asbury Park based band best known for their breezy, melodic power-pop veer into angrier territory with their fantastic new single “Go On Go On” and we couldn’t be more thrilled to premiere it. Often compared to The Beach Boys, Big Star and The Beatles, this track is closer akin in spirit and energy to The Clash.
“At night I dream you are the enemy. The dress you wear, I swear, it’s killing me,” lead singer/guitarist Brian Erickson sings, adeptly walking the line between anger and regret. The guitar interaction between Erickson and lead guitarist Michael James Virok joyfully meets at the intersection of early punk and the anthemic arena filling work of Pete Townshend of The Who. “Tonight I sleep although it’s not so soundly,” Erickson sings, “crash awake it’s chaos all around me.” Chaos has never sounded so good. The drumming of Frank Lattieri Jr. really stands out, at times channeling the rat-a-tat of The Clash’s “Tommy Gun.” Paired with bassist Scott Austin Miller and you have a killer rhythm section. And let’s not forget that surprise horn section courtesy of Miller and Matt Fischer.
Relationships of any kind are hard work. Erickson explains, “Someone is lodging these “very serious complaints” and the other person is just…done. It’s what happens when people stop being on the same page, and someone cares *way* less than someone else. But that aloofness can also help keep someone safe. They know this is no good for them, they’ve gotta get out, and this is what they do. It’s all they *can* do. It’s all they can muster.”
“Go On Go On” was co-written with the band’s friend Jeff Fiedler. “Jeff is like a songwriting secret weapon. He and I have co-written something like 15 songs together.” Erickson continues “It’s always fun to branch out, but having someone like that to consistently go back to and work with really grounds the material.”
The band played the whole un-released record, Everyday Forever, a while back at the Wonder Bar. I was floored by the roller coaster of emotion and sound in this opus, especially the rollicking “Go On Go On.” The album was written, produced, recorded, and mixed by the band themselves with mastering by Rodney Mills who has worked with the likes of Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and the Beastie Boys. Good things are worth the wait. Thankfully the wait is almost over.
The Paper Jets will have a release show for Everyday Forever on December 7th at Asbury Lanes. Joining the celebration will be Tara Dente & The Blind Pilots, We’re Ghosts Now, Dave Mooney & Viewers Like You and Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son. You can pick up tix here.
Halloween 2018 at Clinton Place – Photo & Video Next Post:
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06/11/2014 Obituaries
COURIER OBITUARIES 6-11-14
Anthony Chiovitti
Liberty — Anthony Chiovitti, 55, of 220 McClanhan Road, died Thursday, May 29, 2014 at Baptist Easley Hospital.
Born in Flemington, N.J. he was a son of the late John D. Chiovitti and Irma Romano Chiovitti. He was a 1977 graduate of North Hunterdon Regional High School in Annandale, N.J. and later attended Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute.
Surviving are a sister, Mary Thomas of Oxford, N.J.; a brother, John Chiovitti of Asbury, N.J.; and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and extended family.
Private inurnment services will take place at a later date in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in New Jersey.
Memorial messages may be sent to the family by visiting www.libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary and Cremation Services is handling arrangements.
Jerry W. Kelly
Central — Jerry Wayne Kelly, 56, of 718 Lay Bridge Road and husband of Sharon Jane Gibson Kelly, died Monday, June 2, 2014 in Oconee County.
Born in Pickens County, he was a son of Dalton Kelly of Hendersonville, N.C. and the late Frances Chapman Kelly. Jerry was the owner of Clemson Painting. He was a 1976 graduate of D. W. Daniel High School and was of the Baptist faith.
Surviving in addition to his wife are three sons, Josh Kelly of Liberty and Dillon and Matthew Kelly of North Carolina; a daughter, Leslie Howard of Liberty; two step-daughters, Lorrie Holland of Mt. Airy, N.C. and Sandra Small of Clayton, Ga.; three sisters, Krystal Burgess of Easley, Penny Fine of Charlotte, N.C. and Terry Hendrix of Simpsonville; a granddaughter, Haley Small and many other grandchildren.
In addition to his mother, he was predeceased by a brother, Gary Kelly of Central.
Memorial services were 11 a.m., Friday in the chapel of Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Locks of Love, www.locksoflove.org.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or at the funeral home.
Jean Holcombe Ouzts
Piedmont — Jean Holcombe Ouzts “Me-Me” died on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at Rainey Hospice House. Surrounded by her loving family and in the presence of her Lord and Savior, she closed her eyes to the complications of dialysis and all illness and awoke to the Kingdom of Heaven. Her life on Earth has ended but now, the celebration truly begins.
Jean, formerly of 116 Wigington Road, Piedmont was born in Pickens in Nov. of 1929, the daughter of the late Richard and Eva Holcombe.
Our mother was a woman of simple tastes and loved her collection of dolls, angels, and family photos. She was a member of Mountain Springs Baptist Church, a charter member of the Piedmont Goodwill Club, a past member of the Wren Homemaker’s Club, and a past member of the Senior Citizens Plus Travel Club.
In earlier years, Jean traveled extensively with the Travel Club and daughter, Brenda. Many enjoyable trips were also made with husband, Lloyd, to reunions of the WWII 80th Division Blue Ridge Veteran’s Association. She also enjoyed cooking, canning, and making her famous muscadine jelly.
Mama met all obstacles with strength, dignity, and a positive attitude. She fought a good fight, overcoming many health challenges. Her 84 years have touched many lives with love, integrity, courage, wisdom, and encouragement. Mama was an inspiration to all who knew her, especially her family. She loved her family above all else and no matter how ill, never missed a family function. Her life inspired us, her love sustained us, and her memory will be a shining light forever in our hearts.
Mama, we love you and we miss you – our hearts are broken, but we also know that you are at peace. God grant us the grace to accept our loss, peace for today, and strength for tomorrow.
Jean was the widow of the late Lloyd H. Ouzts, Jr. She was twice married, first to the late J.D. Roberts. From that union, Jean is survived by her beloved daughter, Nancy Roberts Greene and her husband, Johnny; four grandsons, Ricky and Ronnie Watson, Michael and Travis Greene; great-grandchildren, Nathan, Sarah, Seth, Sophie, Ryan and Caroline Watson, and Katie Greene. In 1966, Jean married Lloyd H. Ouzts and not only did she promise to love, honor, and cherish our Dad, she loved, cherished, and helped to raise the children of Lloyd and the late Frances Wigington Ouzts. Those children of her heart are loving daughter, Brenda Ouzts Mull and devoted son, Ray H. Ouzts and his wife, Lisa.
Beloved daughter, Pamela Ouzts Sutherland was born to Jean and Lloyd in 1967 and “Mama Jean” loved and cherished all of her children equally. Pam and husband, Charles became Mama’s caregivers as her health declined. Our sister, Pam, has her family’s utmost admiration and gratitude for the care of our mother. Jean is also survived by her dear siblings, Johnny Holcombe and wife, Bea; sister, Joan Gilstrap and husband, Marshall; many loving nieces and nephews. She was the beloved “Me-Me” of grandchildren, Kristy Mull Stone and her husband, Jimmy; Andrea Ouzts Hamby and husband, Jason; great-grandmother of Jim and Katrien Stone, Thomas, Landon, and Weston Johnson.
She was predeceased by brothers, Jack and J.T. Holcombe; sister, Frankie Brooks; son-in-law, Donald Mull; sister-in-law, Mary Dill Ebey.
Our family wishes to thank the staff of Hosanna Health and Rehab and the staff of Rainey Hospice House for their devoted and loving care of our mother. Our heartfelt thanks are also extended to the Easley Dialysis Center and the Pelzer Rescue Squad.
A celebration of Jean’s life was held on Wednesday, May 28 at 11 a.m. at Mountain Springs Baptist Church conducted by the Rev. Benjamin Smoak. Her grandsons served as pallbearers. Burial was in the old Mountain Springs Church Cemetery.
Flowers are appreciated or memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, Rainey House, 1835 Rogers Rd., Anderson, SC 29621 or to the Pelzer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 94, Pelzer, SC 29669.
Condolences: www.graymortuary.com.
Shelby Jean Smith
Pickens — Shelby Jean Atkinson Smith, 65, of 2000 Gentry Memorial Highway, died Tuesday, at St. Francis Hospital.
Born in Easley she was a daughter of the late Frank and Christine Lesley Atkinson.
She was a member of Lenhardt Christian Fellowship, and enjoyed being involved with her church.
Surviving are her husband, Wallace L. Smith of the home; two daughters, Tammy Anthony (Sammy) of Pickens, Tina Anthony of Liberty; a son, Michael “Patch” Anthony (Jackie) of Liberty; a step daughter, Terri Strickland of Liberty; a step son, Charles Smith of Easley; seven brothers and sisters, 17 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Funeral services to honor the life of Mrs. Smith were 2 p.m. Saturday in the Liberty Mortuary Chapel. Burial was at Flat Rock Baptist Church Cemetery. The Rev. John Brown officiated the service.
Memorial messages may be sent to the family by visiting www.libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary is handling arrangements.
Lucille Johnstone
Pickens — Lucille Grace Aragon Johnstone, 88, of Pickens, died on Tuesday, June 3 2014 at her home surrounded by her family.
Born in Oakland, Calif. she was the widow of Denny Duke Johnstone and a daughter of the late Frank and Josephine Malyhan Aragon. As a young adult, she worked painting ships for the United States Navy during World War II. Throughout her life she loved working with children, and volunteered at schools for over 60 years. She also raised over 17 children in addition to her own, in her home before foster care came into existence.
Surviving are two daughters, Pamela Higgins of Oceanside, Calif., and Chila Kraft of the home; two sons, Paul Johnstone of Grants Pass, Ore., and Frank Johnstone of San Jose, Calif.; a sister, Cecelia Northcutt of Millbrae, Calif.; a brother, Daniel Aragon of San Francisco, Calif.; six grandchildren, four great grandchildren.
Celebration and remembrance services to honor the life of Mrs. Johnstone were 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7 at Larry Looper’s Red Barn, 101 Laurenwood Drive, Pickens SC.
Flowers will be accepted, however the family requests all arrangements be something that can be taken to their home.
Memorial messages may be sent to the family by visiting www.libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary & Cremation Services is handling arrangements.
Watson Powell
Liberty — Barbara Jean W. Powell, 78, wife of the late Herbert Doyle Powell, died Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at Cannon Memorial Hospital.
Born in Pickens County a daughter of the late William E. and Edna Holliday Watson, Barbara was a homemaker and was of the Baptist faith. A special thanks to the staff of Redeemer Health & Rehab for their care and devotion to Barbara while she was in their care. Mrs. Powell had a deep love and sincerely cared for all of her family.
Those left to cherish her memory include her son; Timothy Doyle Powell (Sandy Holcombe) of Central, twin brothers; Coy (Joyce) Watson, Roy (Patty) Watson all of Pickens, four grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
Mrs. Powell was predeceased by her husband, parents, a sister; Thelma Clardy and her husband Dink Clardy and a daughter; Teresa Powell.
The funeral service was 3 p.m. Friday, June 6 at Dillard Funeral Home in the funeral chapel. The burial followed at Hillcrest Memorial Park and Gardens.
Dillard Funeral Home is assisting the Powell family.
John Lewis Harden, Jr.
Easley — John Lewis Harden, Jr. 84, husband of the late Mary Catherine Hendricks Harden, died on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at his home in Easley.
Mr. Harden was born in the Oakway Community of Oconee County, a son of the late John Lewis and Bertha Hall Harden. He was retired from the Utica Plant of J. P. Stevens Company in Seneca after 33 years service. Mr. Harden was a member of Utica Baptist Church.
Survivors include his daughter, Catherine Louise Harden Tripp (Chris) of Easley, grandchildren, Gene Loggins, Amanda Tipton, Wanda Loggins, Stratton Tripp, and Natasha Stephens, and eight great grandchildren. Also surviving is a sister, Janie Lay of Spartanburg and a brother, the Rev. Robert Harden of Walhalla.
A memorial service was held 4 p.m. Friday, June 6 at Pickens View Wesleyan Church with the Rev. Lewis B. Edwards officiating.
Memorials may be made to Journey Hospice, 665 North Academy Street, Greenville, SC 29601.
Dillard Funeral Home is assisting the Harden family.
Fred Mayes
Easley — Fred Palmer Mayes, 66, husband of Jeanette Henson Mayes, died Thursday, May 29, 2014 at Baptist Easley Hospital.
Born in Cleveland County, N.C., to the late James Manson and Mary Bush Mayes, Fred was previously a co-owner of Southtex in Easley, and worked at DH Stancil in Greenville, until his retirement. He enjoyed spending time at home with his family and was of the Baptist faith.
In addition to his wife of 48 years, he is survived by three sons, James, C.J. and Dewayne Mayes, all of Easley; a daughter, Sheryl Mayes of Easley; two brothers, Joe Mayes of Shelby, N.C., and Johnny Mayes of Cowpens; and two sisters, Betty Hawley of Granite Falls, N.C., and Barbara Mullinax of Blacksburg.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, Williams Mayes; a half brother, Junior Mayes; and a half sister, Virginia Beaver.
Memorial services were 4 p.m. Sunday, June 1 at Park Street Baptist Church, in Easley.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or in person at Robinson Funeral Home-Downtown, which is assisting the family.
Lillie H. Gillespie
Central — Lillie Holden Gillespie, 86, of 129 Boggs Road, died Thursday, June 5, 2014 at Majesty Health & Rehab.
Born in Pickens County she was the widow of Fred Walter Gillespie and a daughter of the late Willie and Aldie Hall Holden. She retired from J.P. Stevens, Clemson Plant with 38 and ½ years of service and was of the Baptist Faith. Mrs. Gillespie loved spending time with her family and cooking.
Surviving are a son, Roger Gillespie (Barbara) of Central; a sister, Dorothy Barrett of Pompano Beach, Fla.; a brother, David Holden of Liberty; two grandchildren, Dale Gillespie (Melanie) of Central, and Kimberly A. Gillespie of Central; two great grandchildren, Karly and Kyle Gillespie.
Funeral services to honor Lillie’s life were 11 a.m. Saturday in the Liberty Mortuary Chapel. Burial was at Liberty Memorial Gardens.
Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Pickens County Meals on Wheels, PO Box 184, Easley SC 29641.
Buck Stokes
Easley — John F. “Buck” Stokes, 74, of 107 South 4th Street, died Thursday, June 5, 2014 at St. Francis Hospital.
Born in Greenville he was a son of the late Ernest and Alma Louise Suddeth Stokes.
He retired from Saco Lowell and was a member of Jones Avenue Baptist Church.
Surviving are his wife, Becky Mahaffey Stokes of the home; a step daughter, Alicia Newman of Orangeburg; three sisters, three brothers; a special brother in law, Allen Mahaffey of the home; three grandchildren, John and Luke Leslie, and Chelsea Canipe; one great grandson, Easton Leslie.
In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a daughter, Stacy Leslie.
Funeral services to honor Mr. Stokes life were 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Liberty Mortuary Chapel. Burial was at Greenlawn Memorial Park.
Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Jones Avenue Baptist Church, Building Fund, P.O. Box 1688, Easley SC 29641.
Sid Acker
Easley — Sidney F. “Sid” Acker, 91, of Easley, husband of the late Emily Smith Acker, died Saturday, June 7, 2014 at St. Francis Hospital.
Born in Pickens County, a son of the late John and Nola W. Acker, Mr. Acker was a project engineer for Freeman and Stover Mechanical for a period that spanned over 50 years. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Easley, where he was ordained Deacon Emeritus. He was a veteran of World War II having served with Patton’s 87th Army.
Mr. Acker was awarded a certificate of commendation by the Belgium Embassy for their liberation of German occupation during the Battle of the Bulge.
Surviving are a son, Sidney F. “Skip” Acker of Fort Worth, Texas; a grandson and granddaughter and a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter.
In addition to his wife and parents, Mr. Acker was preceded in death by three brothers and four sisters.
Memorial services were 1 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church, Easley, with the Rev. Dr. John Adams officiating.
Private committal services were held Monday morning in Greenlawn Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to the Building Fund of First Baptist Church, 300 East First Avenue, Easley, SC 29640.
Six Mile – William Austin “Bill” Holder, 98, of Six Mile, died peacefully on Friday, June 6, 2014.
Born in Six Mile he was a son of the late Nathaniel A. and Mary Alice Hall Holder. He was an electrician and plumber for his beloved Six Mile Community.
He was married to Ruby Sorrells Holder for 74 years. He was blessed with six children, William, Jr., Jimmy, Jerry (Kathy), Sandy (Roy), Roger, and Danny, also 12 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at a later date. Memorial messages may be sent to the family by visiting www.libertymortuary.com.
Liberty Mortuary and Cremation Services is handling arrangements.
Louise H. Turner
Easley – Louise Holliday Turner, 89, of Henry Street, wife of the late Leon F. Turner, died Sunday, June 8, 2014.
Born in Anderson County, the daughter of the late John Frank and Elsie Tinsley Holliday, Mrs. Turner was a retired hairdresser and a member of Park Street Baptist Church.
Surviving are a son, Franklin Turner of Easley; and four grandchildren, Crystal Turner French, Kevin Leon Turner, Matthew Franklin Turner and Brittney Turner Ivey; seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Greenlawn Memorial Park.
Helen Whitlock Hiles
Easley – Mrs. Helen Louise Whitlock Hiles, wife of the late John Glen Hiles, died Monday, June 9, 2014 at Glorified Health and Rehab of Greenville.
Born in Liberty, a daughter of the late Jack Sidney and Lula Barnes Whitlock, Mrs. Hiles retired from Cannon Memorial Hospital with 18 years of service, and was a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church, where she belonged to the Prayer Warriors Sunday School Class.
Surviving are three sons, Gerald Hiles (Sheila), Alvin Hiles (Kim), and Mike Hiles (Gail), all of Easley; a daughter-in-law, Donna Cranfield; a brother, Buck Whitlock of Liberty; four grandchildren, Marc, Dusti, Stacey, and Bailey; and four great-grandchildren.
In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Hiles was predeceased by a son, Tommy Hiles; two brothers and three sisters.
Funeral services will be 12 p.m. Wednesday, June 11 at Rock Springs Baptist Church. Burial will follow in Hillcrest Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the church, prior to the service.
The family is at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Gail Hiles, 324 Hartsfield Drive, Easley, SC 29642.
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Los Angeles’ YouthSource Centers are operated by EWDD/WIB and funded through the Federal Workforce Investment Act and a $12 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation Fund. Sixteen YouthSource Centers are located throughout Los Angeles, each in an area identified as having a large out-of-school/out-of-work population. EWDD/WIB operates 2 Centers directly and contracts out the operation of the other 14 Centers to nonprofit groups. The YouthSource Centers provide resources and assistance to help youth advance toward high school graduation and realize their postsecondary or employment-related aspirations.
Prior to the LAUSD-EWDD/WIB collaboration, the YouthSource Centers provided services to youth who were seeking employment or had dropped out of high school. However, the Centers had limited capacity to provide outreach and identify the youth who could benefit from the supportive services being offered. In contrast, LAUSD had the capacity to identify youth for services and was serving the highest risk youth in the school district, including those who had dropped out of school, but did not operate the scale of relevant services provided by the YouthSource Centers.
LAUSD had a list of about 20,000 students who had dropped out of school or were at risk for dropping out. Although the YouthSource Centers were in a position to benefit from this list as a basis for initiating targeted outreach efforts, strict laws prohibited the sharing of students’ educational information and records with other agencies and systems. The two systems needed to find a way to work together and reengage students and refer them to YouthSource Centers where they would find many relevant services. In 2009, EWDD/WIB and LAUSD identified a comprehensive strategy for working together to conduct targeted outreach and to improve outcomes for youth who are out-of-school/out-of-work. Their collaborative efforts include conducting community-based outreach to identify the youth; co-locating LAUSD Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) counselors at the YouthSource Centers; and implementing a youth-centered approach to assessment and making appropriate referrals. These activities both satisfy and surpass the expectations of funders and other key stakeholders, representing a proactive commitment to doing whatever it takes to achieve positive youth outcomes.
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Greene’s study suggested that three brain structures the medial
If she grew up in South Africa during the Apartheid Era, then she of all people should be aware that freedom isn’t free. A price has to be paid somewhere. How she took these protests and made them about herself is wild. It took Neves’ engineers a year to devise Farfetch’s software, which is the secret sauce of his whole enterprise. Farfetch launched in October 2008 with 25 boutiques. One of the first was Giulio’s, a shop in Cambridge that had been badly disrupted by the prevailing headwinds.
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canada goose outlet eu Keeping money found in a lost wallet),” they wrote.Greene’s study suggested that three brain structures the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate and angular gyrus on the left and right sides “play a central role in the emotional processes that influence personal moral decision making,” Raine and Yang wrote.Opinion: Unlocking crime using biological keysOther studies have since confirmed that these areas are important in processing information about moral decisions, as well as an area called the ventral prefrontal cortex.Several researchers have additionally suggested that the brain areas involved in moral judgment overlap with what is called the “default mode network,” which is involved in our “baseline” state of being awake but at rest. The network is also active during “internally focused tasks including autobiographical memory retrieval, envisioning the future, and conceiving the perspectives of others,” Randy Buckner and colleagues wrote in a 2008 study.Autism is another neurological condition that is being explored with regard to moral judgment.Rebecca Saxe at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has collaborated in research looking at how people with autism may weigh intentions and outcomes differently. An example of this kind of scenario would be: If a person tries to kill someone else, but doesn’t succeed, how do you judge them?A typical cognitively healthy person tends to judge targeted efforts at harming people as more morally wrong than accidental harms.”What determines moral blame is not how bad the outcome is, but mostly what was going on in the minds of the actors,” she said cheap canada goose at the American Association of the Advancement of Science annual meeting last year.Researchers compared people with high functioning autism to those who do not have the condition on a variety of scenarios. canada goose outlet eu
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How to make a supergamma
Assuming that one doesn't simply have a budding young lambda on one's hands. If you don't look at these pictures of smiling, happy young drag queens and see the evil lurking underneath, there is something very, very wrong with you.
The camp, “You Are You” (the name has been changed to protect the privacy of the children and is also the name of Morris’ series), is for “Parents who don’t have a gender-confirming 3-year-old who wants to wear high heels and prefers to go down the pink aisle in K-Mart and not that nasty dark boys’ aisle,” Morris said with a laugh.
It is also a place for both parents and children to feel protected in an environment that encourages free expression.
“[The kids] don’t have to look over their shoulders, and they can let down their guard. Those are four days when none of that matters, and they are surrounded by family members who support them,” Morris said....
Although it is unknown if the kids at the camp will eventually identify as gay or transgender—or even if the way gender and sexuality are defined throughout society will evolve—the camp allows the kids to look at themselves in a completely different way.
“They get enough questioning in their daily lives, so it’s a great place for them to express themselves as they feel. … I feel we hear so many of the sad stories and how LGBT kids are disproportionately affected by bullying, depression, and suicide, and it hangs a heavy cloud over them and kind of dooms them from the beginning. I’m saying this is a new story. This is not a tragedy.”
It's not often that one looks at a youth camp showing pictures of happy children and finds oneself thinking, "you know, those jihadists really do have a point". This camp for "gender non-conforming" is evidence that decadent Western society deserves to be killed with fire.
Here is my prediction: by encouraging these mentally abnormal young boys to revel in their illness rather than to conquer it, the consequences are going to be exactly the opposite expected. I hope they do follow the progress of the camp attendees over time, as I predict that as adults, the camp attendees will not only show higher rates of depression, drug abuse, and suicide than the average of the general population, but that they will show higher rates of depression, drug abuse, and suicide than the LGBT average.
I will also bet that at least one of these campers will murder his parents in his teenage years. Some of these kids are so young that their behavior appears to reflect their mother's desires for a daughter rather than any self-directed inclinations.
Labels: Gamma, Pure Evil
Some of the comments in that article are downright idiotic (but that's to be expected), especially those that say "let kids be kids!" as if children are the perfect arbiters for what is healthy, normal, moral, prudent, etc.
So by their thinking, if a kid was cutting himself, the parents should just roll with it because he's expressing himself. Oh but wait, "the kid is hurting himself and that's different!" the progressive would interject.
Some of these kids are so young that their behavior appears to reflect their mother's desires for a daughter rather than any self-directed inclinations.
...And these folk vote I'm guessing...
-Adsignatos D.
What do homosexuals do on the weekend? They go CAMP.
The parents are preparing their boys for their world. My guess is that these parents are fixtures in the victim social matrix, and they know the only way their white, male children will be accepted as victims is to give them a victim identity at an early age.
If you don't look at these pictures of smiling, happy young drag queens and see the evil lurking underneath, there is something very, very wrong with you.
I think you mean "if you look at ...and don't see".
Coming next, camp for boys that kill kittens for fun and another for those who set fires.
The jihadists may not just have a point, they may be sponsoring.
Ernest Hemingway was dressed as a girl, and required to wear a girl's long hair, by his mother Grace until he was six. Supposedly she had wanted twins, so she first made EH wear his sister's hand-me-downs; then purchased identical outfits for the two of them; then she held Marcelline back a year so that the two "girl twins" could attend the same classes in school.
Grace Hemingway was a neurasthenic, entitled, self-centered woman who felt maltreated by the upper middle class suburban life she married into. She found fault with her physician husband until he shot himself in the head. Then she sent Ernest the suicide weapon. She considered Hemingway's early work obscene, a disgrace to her presumed gentility and sophistication. One encounters a quiet, cornered version of his father in The Nick Adams Stories. Sexual and gender ambiguity are central to The Garden of Eden, posthumously published.
I wanted to be a girl as a little kid.
I grew up to be a supergamma. I nearly killed myself after my first GF left me. Three times, I wanted to kill myself, and each time it was over a girl.
I have an ex-gay friend. He's spent most of his life wanting to die. My emotional history is only about five degrees off from his.
One child in there definitely did not look happy.
Meanwhile, parents are being killed for refusing to hand over their children to CPS on the accusations of smoking marijuana. Or their children are being murdered in foster care if they are taken away.
The country's gone batshit crazy and the only solution our leaders offer is more elections and democracy. Because crazy people voting makes things all better.
Ernest Hemingway was dressed as a girl, and required to wear a girl's long hair, by his mother Grace until he was six.
Dunno if we should make much out of that. Up until the late-19th/early-20th century, boys were commonly dressed in a manner indistinguishable from girls and weren't "breeched" until as late as seven or eight years old. Look at paintings and photographs of little boys from that era and before -- they're all wearing long hair and dresses. Unlike the disturbing story Vox linked above, this wasn't a "let your freak flag fly" kind of thing, but apparently a tradition born of convenience.
Those are the creepiest pictures I've seen all year. And yeah I'll go with it's most likely a case of "Mommy wanting a girl" or "Let's encourage abberant behavior so all our liberal friends will see how great we are."
I recall a client during a divorce case about 10 years ago who insisted that letting her 8 year old son put on makeup and wear girls clothing was fine. She said "you'd have no problem if it was a girl who wanted to play with firetrucks or guns". I responded that the the tomboy is an accepted even admired cultural type in the United States. The sissy is not.
I'd sooner leave my kids locked in a closet all day than let one of those sensitive, caring camp counselors have some alone time with one of them. This is an example of homosexuals cultivating a continuous supply of prey. There is a degree of value in social conformity. It prevents kids from standing out as easy victims whether from bullying or sexual predators..
Quick question, how many of these "boys" were actually hermaphrodites (born with at least vestigial versions of both sex organs)? This is increasingly common, with medical staff requiring the parents to chose boy or girl when very young so that the child could be raised as one or the other gender.
As we drift further and further from the Garden of Eden in a sea of birth control pills in the water supply, hormones in our food supply, and other toxins....
Are some of these children there out of parental guilt over the choice they made for their child's gender? Somehow, I doubt that is the explanation for most of these camp(ers).
Meanwhile, at the serial killer factory..
Stickwick, I've read the same thing about Victorian/Edwardian habits with boys. So I must agree in part.
But my reading of most every Hemingway bio indicates that Grace ran with a social convention to manifest her obsession with having "twins", and converting EH to the girl she never had. And then extending EH's 'girlhood' far longer than On top of which, her manipulations of EH and Dr. Hemingway -- always occurring in the direction of shaming and emasculation -- and concluding with the 'gift' of Dr. Hemingway's suicide weapon to EH (as in, "Now it's your turn, you shameful man"), indicate a pathology.
Even if you disagree with my view of this, it's important to note that EH viewed her in the manner I describe. And in his art and in his life, we are not talking about a guy here who was unconcerned with masculinity, his personal masculinity, and the uncertainty with which he addressed his masculinity.
Finally, in the end, EH only loved one of his wives, his first: Hadley. Pauline and Mary were each very *mannish* in appearance; Mary was mannish as well in career. Martha was attractive physically in a feminine way, but she was a frustrated dom in their brief relationship, and dedicated a good portion of the rest of her life to being the ex-wife from hell. A prototypical alpha outwardly and in practice, Hemingway nonetheless spent the bulk of his romantic life in the embrace of boyish, plain women -- or whores. This was a very damaged man. Read the Garden of Eden, which is an astonishing text, and no wonder he suppressed it while alive. I do think it is his most honest book after the early work (produced while with Hadley).
There may be merit to what you're saying. When I visited Key West a few years ago, it seemed to be an open secret that Hemingway was not only a homosexual, but a pederast. The claim is that he married wealthy, socially-elite women in order to maintain the lifestyle he wanted. Who knows if any of this is actually true, but it's consistent with your observations.
Stickwick, I disagree that there is the slightest evidence (again, I've read just about everything that anyone has ever written about him, including that written by enemies; I've read his letters; I've read every line of fiction) that he was a pederast. He was perhaps the most visible man of his era, after Lindbergh, so I don't think there are any secrets out there.
I think you are absolutely correct about his use of wealthy women. He was frequently broke. He debauched his art writing crap in the 1930's, to pay his bills. Martha procured and funded and renovated the Finca in Cuba. Pauline could be said to have purchased at least some of his attention. Hadley and Pauline had significant family money. He spent money, throughout his life, as fast as he made it, and frequently before he made it. His name granted him credit (e.g., he couldn't afford the Pilar, but he scrounged, borrowed and fast-talked his way into its construction), and his talent bailed him out.
Are they really so gender-nonconforming if they're conforming to the female gender?
Also, notice this nonsense only happens with boys.
http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/01/couple_reveals_childs_gender_f.html
http://consumerist.com/2013/08/07/police-and-walmart-investigate-alleged-homophobic-assault-on-toddler-boy-in-fabulous-headband/
The child’s mother didn’t tell store management or the police, and blogged about it. The post got attention, went viral, and was republished on the Huffington Post. You’ll notice that we’re not linking to it, though, because the post
(A Mother Thing)
has been pulled from the Post and her personal blog taken down as well. That’s because some of the attention that comes from everyone sharing your story on Facebook is inevitably negative, and the mother didn’t
News outlets in central Florida report that on Monday, she was taken into custody at a psychiatric institution after expressing suicidal thoughts online. She was released late yesterday. She claimed that attention and actual threats to her family after the post became popular caused a mental breakdown.
hello, i have been reading the posts on this site for a while. fantastic stuff. i am requesting for input on a specific topic - "how to behave around beta men". i am situated in finance and am consistently around beta men. i get sick of it. sometimes i ignore them, sometimes i show them alpha-ness. it works and it does not - i get in trouble sometimes as they feel insecure around me. your expertise would be very helpful on this. good day.
CruelHeart, are you female or male? If you're a male, dumb inquiry, and you're posing. If you're female, just be their big sister or benevolent mommie. Don't expect them to interest you; find virtue in their virtues, because they will admire and support you for it, and float your boat with better seas.
Maybe do, but if these unfortunate events happen it won't be because of the camp the kids went to. It will be because of the unhealed illness that over a life was encouraged.
You can leave the camp out of it.
The sad part of this story is that the children are only mimicking the parents empathy. The children are "learning" to behave in a way that satisfies the childs need to belong to the family unit. The child will behave in most any way possible to get parental approval.
Its a feedback system, if you want to see how perverse it is look at the parents reaction in the "fashion" show picture. Approval is clearly indicated, thus the child will mimic accordingly. It is until the mirror nodes of the child are turned down around age 8 that the child will feel out of place in the "real" world. Trying to fit in using the tools taught at this camp. Eventually the child will either take the red pill, or live a life of misery trying to merge what was taught, and what reality feedback.
This is really sad.....
What a sick world.
I wish I'd not read this.
Hey I've been meaning to ask for quite some time now: "What are some very effective ways to beat the "gamma" and "omega" out of gammas and omegas and improve their socio-sexual success?"
Vox, could you develop on this topic sometime in a future post or series of posts? I'll pop back later someday.....
Adults can control, tame and retrain their desires. Children lack the obvious cerebral development and wisdom.
Can this kids we talked into, say, fighting overseas in 8 to 12 more years? We shall see or do we even want to see? Do the kids know they have no real future in this fashionable state much less as normal boys?
Under Nationalist leadership--such as that of that of the Provisional Government of National Restoration (PGNR)--these parents would be fined heavily and in some cases imprisoned.
Certainly their children would be taken from them and placed in sound homes.
"...I am situated in finance and am consistently around beta men. I get sick of it. Sometimes I ignore them, sometimes I show them alpha-ness. It works and it does not--I get in trouble sometimes as they feel insecure around me."
I can sympathise.
Easy. Drop them in a forest with knife and a fucking loincloth. If they survive, the gamma will never return.
This camp is absolute fucking bullshit.
These photos would anger me even if this was a camp for little *girls*. Dolling them up with makeup and shiny, low-cut dresses... no child belongs in that sort of outfit. It's just another way for doughy, overweight single mothers to live vicariously through their children. Drama.
Jonathan Lembauch said...
Gammas and omegas are different in nature. Omegas simply don't have a clue. Gammas have a clue, and they reject it because they would rather lie to themselves than face the truth.
All the modern psychobabble about finding and "connecting" with one's deeper self, or "having a good self-image" is bullshit. You only get a better self-image through one simple thing: accomplishment. Boys and men need Dragons to slay.
Also, those born with lesser gifts should not think that disqualifies them. What you do with what you have is what defines you much more than what you had to start with. Imagine the despair of a guy who was given everything: looks, athletic body, intelligence, socioeconomic class, and yet he accomplishes nothing but mediocrity. Now, imagine a guy born with no arms and legs who manages to make something of his life rather than wallow in self-pity. And note that Nick Vujicic did not meet and attract his lovely young wife because he was a quadriplegic, but because he conquered life in spite of it.
As I said, and as Nate says in the Dragon Slaying article and comments, Omegas just need direction. Gammas need something else. I think they need to come to a realization somewhere, somehow, that no one owes them nice treatment just because they exist. No one owes them *anything*. Until they cross that line, they will continue to inhabit a world that is defined by every real or imagined slight, and encouraged by every soothing voice that lies to them that "those insensitive people just don't know the real you." If you find yourself seeking out voices of reassurance rather than instruction and direction, you are a gamma.
When your group can't reproduce itself the old-fashioned way by making babies, you have to recruit. The odd thing is, the people who say sexual orientation is immutable are the ones who are hoping that treating 3-year-old boys like girls will turn them homosexual (or some other type of sexual deviancy), which shows they really don't believe their own claims.
When I was in grade school, I was small and awkward and sucked at kickball, so I preferred sitting with the girls at recess and making those fortune-telling things out of paper. I'm so glad no one decided that meant I was really a girl inside and needed to be sent to dress-up camp.
The article reminds of How to Make a Monster by Rob Zombie or Prince Charming by Metallica.
As the days go by I think the jihadists are the only ones left in the world who actually believe in something. The nature of the leftists is for perpetual progress and since it is progress for progress sake and they hold to no moral absolutism there is no reason why their own progressive moral system cannot inevitably turn on itself. Progress seems to be like a drug for these people, both addictive and tolerance building. The more change that happens the more they need to change. Eventually, they will erode too many social barriers and the whole thing will collapse. Society is really repression of the self. Repress it too much and you stifle creativity. Liberate it too much and no one can form a group. It always devolves into chaos since there is NO SOCIAL ORDER without hierarchy. There is no order of any kind without hierarchy.
To Rycamor:
(Long time getting back...) I agree with what you are saying, it makes sense. I have seen most of the articles you suggested. The YouTube vid about Nick Vujicic was truly motivating. God bless him, his wife and his family.....
P.S. I posed the questions to get help for gammas and omegas. Thanks for the input and see you around on the blogosphere. I tried to reach you at your new blog but I see you're still working on it. Wish you the best and see you around.
"Ernest Hemingway was dressed as a girl, and required to wear a girl's long hair, by his mother Grace until he was six."
Hemingway's youngest son was a transvestite who had a sex change operation.
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Spear v. Berryhill
RICHARD SPEAR PLAINTIFF
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Commissioner Social Security Administration DEFENDANT
HON. ERIN L. WIEDEMANN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff, Richard Spear, brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking judicial review of a decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (Commissioner) denying his claims for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits (DIB) under the provisions of Title II of the Social Security Act (Act). In this judicial review, the Court must determine whether there is substantial evidence in the administrative record to support the Commissioner's decision. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
Plaintiff protectively filed his current application for DIB on June 1, 2015, alleging an inability to work since October 25, 2013, due to degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psychosis, sleep apnea and obesity. (Tr. 95-96, 189). For DIB purposes, Plaintiff maintained insured status through June 30, 2014. (Tr. 14, 191). An administrative hearing was held on May 20, 2016, at which Plaintiff appeared with counsel and testified. (Tr. 35-55).
By written decision dated February 17, 2017, the ALJ found that during the relevant time period, Plaintiff had an impairment or combination of impairments that were severe. (Tr. 16). Specifically, the ALJ found Plaintiff had the following severe impairments: degenerative disc disease, obesity, sleep apnea, bipolar disorder, and affective personality disorder.
However, after reviewing all of the evidence presented, the ALJ determined that through the date last insured Plaintiff's impairments did not meet or equal the level of severity of any impairment listed in the Listing of Impairments found in Appendix I, Subpart P, Regulation No. 4. (Tr. 16). The ALJ found that through the date last insured Plaintiff retained the residual functional capacity (RFC) to:
perform sedentary work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(a) except that he could occasionally climb stairs and ramps, balance, crawl, kneel, stoop, and crouch. He could not climb ropes, ladders, or scaffolds. He could frequently finger, handle, operate foot controls, and reach bilaterally. He was limited to simple, routine, and repetitive tasks in a setting where interpersonal contact was incidental to the work performed. He could respond to supervision that was simple, direct, and concrete.
(Tr. 18). With the help of a vocational expert, the ALJ determined that through the date last insured Plaintiff could perform work as a compact assembler, an ampoule sealer and an addressing clerk. (Tr. 26).
Plaintiff then requested a review of the hearing decision by the Appeals Council, which denied that request on January 18, 2018. (Tr. 1-6). Subsequently, Plaintiff filed this action. (Doc. 1). This case is before the undersigned pursuant to the consent of the parties. (Doc. 8). Both parties have filed appeal briefs, and the case is now ready for decision. (Docs. 14, 15).
The Court has reviewed the entire transcript and the parties' briefs. For the reasons stated in the ALJ's well-reasoned opinion and the Government's brief, the Court finds Plaintiff's arguments on appeal to be without merit and finds that the record as a whole reflects substantial evidence to support the ALJ's decision. Accordingly, the ALJ's decision is hereby summarily affirmed and Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed with prejudice. See Sledge v. Astrue, No. 08-0089, 2008 WL ...
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Dunahue v. Plummer
REGINALD L. DUNAHUE ADC #106911 PLAINTIFF
JAMES PLUMMER, et al., DEFENDANTS
Before the Court is the Recommended Disposition submitted by United States Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray (Dkt. No. 126). Plaintiff Reginald L. Dunahue filed objections to the Recommended Disposition (Dkt. No. 127). After careful consideration of the Recommended Disposition, the objections, and a de novo review of the record, the Court adopts the Recommended Disposition as its findings in all respects (Dkt. No. 126). As a result, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of defendants on Mr. Dunahue's remaining claims and dismisses with prejudice this case. The Court therefore denies as moot Mr. Dunahue's motion for an evidentiary hearing and for the appointment of counsel (Dkt. No. 128).
Mr. Dunahue filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that: (1) defendants Lieutenant John Herrington (“Lt. Herrington”), Lieutenant James Plummer (“Lt. Plummer”), and Sergeant Sedrick Foote (“Sgt. Foote”) used excessive force on July 19, 2015, when they sprayed him with mace, “smoke bombed” his isolation cell, and hog-tied him; (2) defendant Major Lasaundra Malone (“Maj. Malone”) authorized that use of force; (3) Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, and Sgt. Foote refused to provide him with medical care for the injuries he sustained during the July 19, 2015, use of force; (4) Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, Sgt. Foote, and Maj. Malone subjected him to inhumane conditions of confinement by failing to provide him with adequate nutrition for the seven days he was being punished for his role in the July 19, 2015, incident; (5) Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, and Sgt. Foote refused to remove the chemical residue from his cell; and (6) defendants Warden Randy Watson (“Warden Watson”), Deputy Warden Jeremy Andrews (“Deputy Warden Andrews”), and Deputy Warden Christopher Budnik (“Deputy Warden Budnik”) knew about these constitutional violations but failed to take corrective action (Dkt. No. 7). On January 23, 2018, this Court allowed Mr. Dunahue to proceed with his excessive force claim against defendants Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, Sgt. Foote, and Maj. Malone; inadequate medical care claim against defendants Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, and Sgt. Foote; and inhumane conditions of confinement claims against Warden Watson, Deputy Warden Andrews, Deputy Warden Budnik, Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, Sgt. Foote, and Maj. Malone (Dkt. No. 57). On September 17, 2018, the Court held that Mr. Dunahue failed to exhaust his corrective inaction claims against Warden Watson, Deputy Warden Andrews, and Deputy Warden Budnik, and the Court dismissed those claims without prejudice (Dkt. No. 101). The Court also concluded that Mr. Dunahue failed to exhaust his claims that Lt. Plummer violated his constitutional rights by refusing to remove chemical residue from Mr. Dunahue's cell and therefore dismissed those claims without prejudice (Id.).
The four remaining defendants then moved for summary judgment on Mr. Dunahue's remaining claims (Dkt. No. 110). The Recommended Disposition recommends granting defendants' motion for summary judgment and the dismissal of Mr. Dunahue's remaining claims (Dkt. No. 126). In his objections, Mr. Dunahue argues that the Court should not adopt the Recommended Disposition because there was “[n]o urgent need . . . to seize [his] tooth paste & brush, soap, clothes, shoes, mattress & food on July 19, 2015” (Dkt. No. 127, at 3). He also argues that “[d]efendants went against ADC policy by using force on July 19, 2015[, ] for the purpose of seizing items ADC sold to [Mr. Dunahue], and items by law ADC must give an inmate” (Id.). Mr. Dunahue further argues that defendants' actions on July 19, 2015, were “to punish” him (Id., at 8). He also asserts that he was deprived of meals for seven days and that this deprivation “was malicious and not pursuant to policy . . . .” (Id.).
As discussed in the Recommended Disposition, Mr. Dunahue's operative complaint alleges claims arising out of an incident that occurred on July 19, 2015. The record evidence contains four video recordings of this incident, which the Court has reviewed (Dkt. No. 113). After reviewing the record evidence, the Court agrees with Judge Ray that no reasonable juror could conclude that defendants violated Mr. Dunahue's constitutional rights. Therefore, Mr. Dunahue's claims against defendants are barred by qualified immunity. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S 223, 232 (2009) (holding that plaintiff must establish a violation of a constitutional or statutory right in order to overcome qualified immunity).
As to Mr. Dunahue's excessive force claims, the undisputed record evidence indicates that Mr. Dunahue flooded his cell and then refused to be restrained in order to leave his cell. The undisputed record evidence also shows that Mr. Dunahue refused when Lt. Herrington asked for his compliance, and then Lt. Herrington used a limited amount of pepper spray and tear gas in order to force Mr. Dunahue to accept restraints. Even viewing the record evidence in the light most favorable to Mr. Dunahue, the Court concludes that no reasonable juror could conclude that defendants used excessive force against Mr. Dunahue when they removed him from his cell or at any point afterwards during this incident.
The Court also concludes that, reviewing the record evidence in the light most favorable to Mr. Dunahue, no reasonable juror could conclude that defendants were deliberately indifferent to Mr. Dunahue's health and safety with regard to the manner in which he was decontaminated in the shower. The undisputed record evidence shows that Mr. Dunahue was provided a shower promptly after being exposed to pepper spray and tear gas. At no point immediately after that shower, as shown on the video recording, did Mr. Dunahue complain about the sufficiency of the shower. Whether Mr. Dunahue was in handcuffs during that shower does not create a disputed genuine issue of material fact that is outcome determinative, as there is no record evidence that suggests that the shower was insufficient to decontaminate him, regardless of whether he was handcuffed. The defendants presented sufficient record evidence to shift the burden to Mr. Dunahue, at which point Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 requires him to “discard the shielding cloak of formal allegations and meet proof with proof” as to his deliberate indifference claim. Conseco Life Ins. Co. v. Williams, 620 F.3d 902, 909 (8th Cir. 2010) (quoting Flentje v. First Nat'l Bank of Wynne, 11 S.W.3d 531, 536 (Ark. 2000)). Mr. Dunahue has presented no additional proof to rebut the video evidence presented by defendants. Accordingly, as Mr. Dunahue has failed to meet proof with proof, the Court grants summary judgment as a matter of law to defendants on Mr. Dunahue's deliberate indifference claim arising out of allegations regarding his decontamination shower.
Similarly, the Court concludes that there are no disputed genuine issues of material fact with respect to Mr. Dunahue's claim that he received inadequate medical care after he was exposed to pepper spray and tear gas. In Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837 (1994), the Court held that a prison official is “deliberately indifferent” if the official “knows of and disregards an excessive risk of serious harm to inmate health or safety.” In Saylor v. Nebraska, 812 F.3d 637, 644 (8th Cir. 2016), the Court explained that “the deliberate indifference standard [articulated in Farmer] has both objective and subjective prongs, ” which require a prisoner to prove that: (1) “he suffered from an objectively serious medical need [the objective prong]”; and (2) the defendants “actually knew of but deliberately disregarded [the prisoner's] serious medical need [the subjective prong]”
(citations omitted). Defendants have presented medical records which indicate that Mr. Dunahue was seen immediately after the incident by a nurse and that the nurse found that all of his vital signs were normal (Dkt. No. 110-2, at 10). Mr. Dunahue argues that he did not see medical professionals on July 19, 2015, and that defendants falsified the medical record (Dkt. No. 110-10, at 54). Mr. Dunahue did, however, testify that “when medical personnel came down, they were not able to analyze [him] or examine [him] because by [him] being placed in a shower like that, they couldn't enter the shower.” (Id.). He clarified that he “visually saw medical professionals, but [he] was not able to be tended to by medical professionals.” (Id., at 55). Mr. Dunahue has presented no record evidence to dispute the medical records documenting additional treatment he received in the weeks following this event; those records include no complaints of medical problems related to his alleged exposure to pepper spray and tear gas on July 19, 2015 (Dkt. No. 110-3, at 5-7). There is no dispute that a medical professional was present immediately following Mr. Dunahue's extraction from his cell. Further, there is no record evidence that defendants actually knew that Mr. Dunahue suffered from a serious medical need after this event and were deliberately indifferent to it. Therefore, the Court concludes that defendants are entitled to summary judgment on Mr. Dunahue's claim that defendants were deliberately indifferent to his need for medical care following his removal from his cell.
The Court also agrees with Judge Ray that defendants are entitled to summary judgment on Mr. Dunahue's claim that they were deliberately indifferent to the decontamination of his cell. The video evidence shows that, when Mr. Dunahue was removed from his cell, the floor was flooded with water. The video evidence also shows that, when he was returned to his cell, there was no longer water in his cell. The video evidence shows a cleaning cart outside of the cell, as well as a mop and mop bucket. Furthermore, the orange substance on the cell bars-presumably pepper spray-is no longer visible in the video that shows Mr. Dunahue returned to his cell. Additionally, when Mr. Dunahue is returned to his cell, no one inside of the cell coughs, sneezes, or otherwise reacts in a way that suggests that chemical residue remains in the cell. Further, the audio from the video indicates that, after Mr. Dunahue is returned to his cell and the cuffs are removed, the sink in Mr. Dunahue's cell was working, providing Mr. Dunahue with another method to remove any remaining chemical residue. Viewing all of this record evidence in the light most favorable to Mr. Dunahue, the Court concludes that no reasonable juror could conclude that defendants acted with deliberate indifference by returning Mr. Dunahue to his cell and by refusing him a second decontamination shower.
The Court also agrees with Judge Ray that defendants are entitled to summary judgment on Mr. Dunahue's conditions of confinement claim based upon inadequate nutrition. The undisputed record evidence shows that Mr. Dunahue has suffered no physical injury due to receiving “nutritional loaves” while incarcerated. The Eighth Circuit has held that food which causes cramps, nausea, and constipation does not raise constitutional issues. Brown-El v. Delo, 969 F.2d 644, 646, 648 (8th Cir. 1992). Thus, taking this evidence in the light most favorable to Mr. Dunahue, the Court concludes that no reasonable juror could conclude that his constitutional rights were violated by being provided nutritional loaves while incarcerated.
Finally, the Court denies as moot Mr. Dunahue's motion for an evidentiary hearing and for the appointment of counsel (Dkt. No. 128). Mr. Dunahue's motion comes in response to Judge Ray's Recommended Disposition (Id.). Given the Court's adoption of the Recommended Disposition in its entirety as the Court's findings in all respects, the Court's grant of Lt. Herrington, Lt. Plummer, Sgt. Foote, and Maj. Malone's motion for summary judgment, and the Court's dismissal with prejudice of Mr. Dunahue's remaining claims against these defendants, Mr. Dunahue's motion for an evidentiary hearing and for the appointment of counsel is mooted. As a result, the Court denies this motion.
1. The Court adopts the Recommended Disposition in its entirety as the Court's findings in all ...
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Author’s Note: Book One
This is the architectural and historical note posted at the end of All Who Are Lost.
On September 11, 2001, the company I worked for lost 16 people: 15 in the Twin Towers and one on American 11. Like so many of us, I found myself haunted for years by the recurring specter of the falling towers, and eventually I found myself integrating the events of that day into a rewrite of a novel I had been working on for many years.
When I decided to write about that September morning, I determined up front that I would not alter history and I would not take anything from those who died that day. So where to place Cameron St. Bride in his final hour?
Not in the Pentagon where, despite the horrendous damage, only (only!) 120 people died on the ground. I felt that, given his business interests, I could have made a believable case for his presence, but I did not want to alter history by adding a victim or dishonor someone by having my fictional character take his place.
Not on United 93 – he would not replace one of those 39 brave passengers who saved so many more with their sacrifice.
Not on any of the other three planes, since the passenger lists encompassed a finite group of people. Besides, someone like Cam St. Bride would certainly not be traveling commercially if he could help it, and I knew that the presence of a private corporate jet would come in handy later on. (Plus, I work across the street from the airport where St. Bride Data keeps its jet!)
So that left the Twin Towers. Which tower became a matter of character, because Cam would have assessed the situation and gotten the hell out of Dodge (the South Tower) as soon as he saw the smoke pouring from the North Tower. Most people in the South Tower did not know that a plane had hit the other tower, since the damage occurred on the side of the building away from them, but they certainly saw the smoke and knew that something had happened. In fact, even in the North Tower, many people did not know that a plane had hit the tower; they thought a bomb had gone off. Those who had worked in the World Trade Center in 1993 remembered the earlier bombing, and many people chose to leave as a precaution. Although the occupants of the South Tower didn’t know what was coming at 9:03 a.m., and in spite of the building announcement that everything was under control, many decided to evacuate and thus survived. Because of this precaution, the South Tower saw far fewer casualties, even though the strike zone in the South Tower was lower and the hit destabilized the building more severely (which is why it fell first). The cool and rational Cam would have disregarded the announcement, factored in the disruption to his travel plans of the emergency vehicles already gathering on the streets, and left the building as quickly as he could.
Then I learned about the restaurant at the top of the North Tower. No one in the restaurant at 8:46 a.m. had a chance once the hijackers rammed the 767 into the building. All the stairwells were blocked, and the elevator shafts were either damaged or completely destroyed, so no one above the 91st floor made it out alive. Add in that the Windows on the World restaurant was exactly the sort of place where Cam St. Bride might conduct a breakfast business meeting, and his final destination was decided.
Remember that, even though there is an official total number of victims from the towers, no one really knows how many souls were actually trapped there, because very few bodies were recovered intact and many, many remain unidentified to this day. So Cam St. Bride does not replace anyone.
The one liberty I took was the timing of the last elevator. It actually left at 8:40 a.m. that morning, six minutes before AA 11 struck. I placed the last elevator at 8:43 a.m. so that Cam might reasonably still be on the phone with his brother, but gave his corporate counsel and the briefcase time to escape.
There are so many references on 9/11 that it is hard to single one out. I have included a brief bibliography at the end of this note.
On a happier note, I have also included a bibliography for anyone wishing to learn more about Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, and his influence on Virginia architecture. I have always had a passion for old houses, and in writing this had the fun of creating not one but four houses.
Ashmore Magna and Ashmore Minor are both based on James River plantations; the “minor” house, once owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation but sold to a private investor after 9/11, is close to the old city, while the other, privately owned by the same family since its building, sits in lordly splendor in Fluvanna County. Both are beautiful homes. The interiors are my own invention and come from a plethora of sources. The Folly is based on one of the smaller Newport summer cottages (smaller being relative, as these cottages were magnificent mansions). I based Richard Ashmore’s renovations, which remove the worst of the Gilded Age excesses, on numerous different houses.
There are so many books on Jefferson’s architecture, Monticello, and Virginia plantation homes that, again, I have listed only a smattering. I have focused the Jeffersonian bibliography on his relationship with Sally Hemings, as that has the most relevance to the story of Richard Ashmore and Laura St. Bride.
Several years ago, the original photographs for the Guinness/Sadler book, Mr. Jefferson, Architect, taken by Desmond Guinness, went up for auction on Ebay. Guess who was the lucky winner?
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Home » Celebrity Horoscope » About Atal Bihari Vajpayee Who Is Atal Bihari Vajpayee
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee/ Who is Atal Bihari Vajpayee ?
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian politician who was the 10th Prime Minister of India. He was Born on December 25, 1924 at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He is the only Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime Minister of India through three successive mandates. After Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Shri Vajpayee has been the first Prime Minister who proved victorious in two successive elections. He was educated at Laxmibai College, Gwalior and D.A.V. College, Kanpur and holds a Postgraduate degree in Political Science. He joined the Quit India Movement of 1942 which hastened the end of British colonial rule .He served as Prime Minister for a short stint in 1996. Later on March 19, 1998, he took charge as Prime Minister of India and again on October 13, 1999 for the second consecutive term as the head of a new coalition government, the National Democratic Alliance. Apart from being a great politician he is also a great writer as is evident from his "Meri Sansadiya Yatra" (in four volumes), "Meri Ikkyavan Kavitayen", "Sankalp Kaal", "Shakti-se-Shanti", "New Dimensions of India''s Foreign Policy" (a collection of speeches delivered as External Affairs Minister during 1977-79), "Jan Sangh Aur Mussalman", "Sansad Mein Teen Dashak" (Hindi) (speeches in Parliament - 1957-1992 - three volumes) and "Amar Aag Hai" (a collection of poems) 1994. Hesuccessfully handled the situation at Kargil, repulsing back the intruders from the Indian soil. He has a long list of awards to his claim: the Padma Vibhushan in 1992, the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian, both in 1994. Earlier, the Kanpur University honoured him with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993. A avid reader and a great speaker he has a natural inclination towards Indian music and dance
What year was Atal Bihari Vajpayee born?
What is Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth date?
His birthday is on Thursday, December 25
Where was Atal Bihari Vajpayee born?
Gwalior (MP)
How old is Atal Bihari Vajpayee ?
When was Atal Bihari Vajpayee born?
What nationality is Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Character horoscope
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a person who places comfort and happiness before everything else. This, however must not be taken to mean that Atal Bihari Vajpayee neglect Atal Bihari Vajpayee's duties for the sake of these requirements. Quite the reverse, Atal Bihari Vajpayee will work and strive, knowing that it is only by industry that Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be able to attain them satisfactorily.Atal Bihari Vajpayee like company and are not happy when alone. Consequently, Atal Bihari Vajpayee will seek out friendships and value them.Atal Bihari Vajpayee is capable and admire efficiency. It takes a great deal to make Atal Bihari Vajpayee rise up and rend Atal Bihari Vajpayee's adversary. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is shrewd in financial matters.Though Atal Bihari Vajpayee applaud what is old and well tried but give new things a fair trial. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is remarkably good-hearted and noted for Atal Bihari Vajpayee's love towards children.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Happiness and Fulfillment horoscope
There is a harmony between Atal Bihari Vajpayee's thinking and feelings, enabling Atal Bihari Vajpayee to have a firm grasp on reality. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is very practical, able to understand yourself, and say tactfully exactly what's on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mind. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is able to see what in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's inherent nature prevents Atal Bihari Vajpayee from achieving inner satisfaction and Atal Bihari Vajpayee is able to verbalise this. However, Atal Bihari Vajpayee will tend to worry about the most inconsequential matters, tend to gossip and be as critical of yourself as Atal Bihari Vajpayee is of others.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Life Style horoscope
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is more inward than most. If Atal Bihari Vajpayee were to appear in front of a large group of people, Atal Bihari Vajpayee would suffer from stage phobia. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is best motivated when Atal Bihari Vajpayee is alone to do whatever Atal Bihari Vajpayee want to do, and at Atal Bihari Vajpayee's own pace.
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee / Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography
Name: Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Date of Birth: Thursday, December 25, 1924
Place of Birth: Gwalior (MP)
Information Source: The Times Select Horoscopes
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Horoscope
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Career Horoscope
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Birth Horoscope/ birth chart/ kundli
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 2018 Horoscope
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Images for Phrenology
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Coaches Prepare for a Unique, Late Season
Collin College's coaches are finding ways to keep their programs on track in a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Schedule changes announced by the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) on July 13 are just the latest wrinkles.
Women's basketball coach Jeff Allen said he and fellow coaches will work hard over the next few weeks to put together schedules that comply with the NJCAA's requirements – practice and scrimmages only until late January.
"Player safety has always been our priority. We will practice and scrimmage this fall with precautions in place," Allen said. "We will adjust to the guidelines and be ready to compete in the spring."
Men's basketball coach Jim Sigona believes the longer practice period may even benefit his team.
"This will give us more time to implement our system and for players to work on their skill development," he said.
Both Allen and Sigona have continued recruiting throughout the summer, although it has been different from past offseasons.
"Recruiting has gone well," Sigona said. "We've just done more video watching and zoom meetings."
Allen agreed that the process has been "interesting" this year.
"We have a few international players who have not been able to get visas due to embassies being closed," he said, "but besides that, I like our incoming players and I'm excited to get started."
The college is in the process of hiring a new men's and women's tennis coach after Marty Berryman retired at the end of the 2019-20 season. That season was cut short in mid-March with the announcement by the NJCAA that it was suspending all spring sports.
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Cubans Walk Out During Bush U.N. Speech
Atlantis Online > Forum > Current Events > Breaking News > Cubans Walk Out During Bush U.N. Speech
Author Topic: Cubans Walk Out During Bush U.N. Speech (Read 22 times)
UNITED NATIONS - Cuba's foreign minister walked out of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday in protest of President Bush's speech in which he said the "long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end" on the communist island.
The Cuban delegation issued a statement saying the decision by Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque to leave was a "sign of profound rejection of the arrogant and mediocre statement by President Bush."
In his speech, Bush looked ahead to a Cuba no longer ruled by Fidel Castro, the ailing 81-year-old leader who has not appeared in public in more than a year, since ceding power to a provisional government headed by his brother Raul.
"In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end," Bush said. "The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly and, ultimately, free and competitive elections."
Cuba's U.N. Mission said the American president had no moral standing to criticize anyone.
It accused Bush of responsibility "for the murder of over 600,000 civilians in Iraq" and for "the torture of prisoners" at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where more than 300 men are being held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.
"He is a criminal and has no moral authority or credibility to judge any other country," the mission's statement said. "Cuba condemns and rejects every letter of his infamous tirade
Re: Cubans Walk Out During Bush U.N. Speech
Yes, unfortunately, the President doesn't have much moral highground to stand on when he happens to be torturing people indefinitely detained on Cuban soil himself. Truly a shame that the American media does not see the irony.
"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand fail..." - King David, Psalms 137:5
http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/shoah/index.html
http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/
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Bay Area Refineries, California Regulation, Environmental Impacts, Ethanol, Risk Assessment, Spill prevention and response
SF Chron: flood of oil tank cars “potential environmental disasters on wheels”
Repost from The San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com
Lots of oil in rail tank cars about to be coming to Bay Area
Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross
FILE – In this Aug. 8, 2012 file photo, DOT-111 and AAR-211 class rail tankers pass by on the background as a man works at the Union Pacific rail yard in Council Bluffs, Iowa. DOT-111 rail cars being used to ship crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region are an “unacceptable public risk,” and even cars voluntarily upgraded by the industry may not be sufficient, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2014. The cars were involved in derailments of oil trains in Casselton, N.D., and Lac-Megantic, Quebec, just across the U.S. border, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said at a House Transportation subcommittee hearing. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File) Photo: Nati Harnik, Associated Press.
Oil is flooding into the Bay Area – in rail tank cars that amount to potential environmental disasters on wheels.
In 2011, about 9,000 tank cars filled with crude oil were shipped into California by rail. In the next two years, thanks to the oil boom in North Dakota and Canada, the number is expected to jump to more than 200,000, according to the California Energy Commission.
About 10 percent of the oil will be headed to the five Bay Area refineries, which means traveling through Contra Costa and Solano counties. The question is, are we prepared to handle the spills or fires if there is a derailment?
“No,” said state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, after listening to 2 1/2 hours of testimony from emergency responders the other day at a hearing in Sacramento.
In a nutshell, the state has plenty of money for responding to waterborne accidents like the Cosco Busan oil spill in the bay in 2007 – but virtually nothing for handling spills on land.
“It’s not that crude oil is any more dangerous than ethanol or other products that we currently see on the rails,” said Chief Jeff Carman of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “It’s just that with the sheer volume that will be coming in, we are going to see more accidents.”
First on the scene of any accident is likely to be the local fire department – but in Contra Costa and Solano, some agencies have closed fire stations in recent years or reduced the number of personnel per shift to deal with budget cuts.
Contra Costa Fire, for example, is down to 75 on-duty firefighters a day to cover 400 square miles and 600,000 people, compared with the 90 firefighters a day just two years ago.
To give an idea of the potential scale of an accident, the amount of oil that spilled from the Cosco Busan equals about 1 1/2 tank cars of crude. A full train could carry 60 times that amount.
“There is a potential for very serious problems and very disastrous problems,” Hill said.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.
BakkenCalifornia State BudgetDerailmentLac-Megantic QuebecSan Francisco ChronicleTank cars
Previous PostCCTimes editorial: Officials must oversee dangerous crude oil trainsNext PostKPIX report: opposition growing in Bay Area
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ACNB Corporation Announces Fourth Quarter Cash Dividend
By: ACNB Corporation via GlobeNewswire News Releases
GETTYSBURG, Pa., Oct. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of ACNB Corporation recently approved and declared the payment of the regular quarterly cash dividend. The cash dividend of $0.25 per share is payable on December 15, 2020, to shareholders of record on December 1, 2020. This per share amount will result in aggregate dividend payments of approximately $2.2 million to ACNB Corporation shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2020. In comparison to a year ago, ACNB Corporation also paid a $0.25 dividend per share in the fourth quarter of 2019.
“In continuing ACNB Corporation’s long-standing history of a quarterly cash dividend, the Board of Directors voted to provide a fourth quarter cash dividend of $0.25 per share, which is the same amount paid for the past six quarters beginning in June 2019,” said James P. Helt, ACNB Corporation President & Chief Executive Officer. “Despite this year’s unprecedented times due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the payment of a stable dividend, the Board of Directors remains committed to the shareholders who invest their money in our future. We may have changed how we worked during this pandemic; however, we did not change the purpose of our work. At ACNB Corporation’s community banking and insurance agency subsidiaries, we are resilient and looking to the future---as are the customers and communities we proudly serve.”
With this fourth quarter dividend, the regular quarterly cash dividends paid to shareholders for the year of 2020 will total $1.00 per share. This per share amount will result in aggregate dividend payments of approximately $8.7 million to ACNB Corporation shareholders for 2020---a year-over-year increase of approximately $1.8 million including the 2020 dividends paid to new shareholders resulting from the acquisition of Frederick County Bancorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Frederick County Bank, effective January 11, 2020. In comparison to a year ago, ACNB Corporation paid a total of $0.98 per share in 2019 and an aggregate of more than $6.9 million to shareholders during the same period.
ACNB Corporation, headquartered in Gettysburg, PA, is the $2.4 billion financial holding company for the wholly-owned subsidiaries of ACNB Bank, Gettysburg, PA, and Russell Insurance Group, Inc., Westminster, MD. Originally founded in 1857, ACNB Bank serves its marketplace with banking and wealth management services, including trust and retail brokerage, via a network of 21 community banking offices, located in the four southcentral Pennsylvania counties of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York, as well as loan offices in Lancaster and York, PA, and Hunt Valley, MD. As divisions of ACNB Bank operating in Maryland, FCB Bank and NWSB Bank serve the local marketplace with a network of five and seven community banking offices located in Frederick County and Carroll County, MD, respectively. Russell Insurance Group, Inc., the Corporation’s insurance subsidiary, is a full-service agency with licenses in 44 states. The agency offers a broad range of property, casualty, health, life and disability insurance serving personal and commercial clients through office locations in Westminster, Germantown and Jarrettsville, MD, and Gettysburg, PA. For more information regarding ACNB Corporation and its subsidiaries, please visit acnb.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS - In addition to historical information, this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (a) projections or statements regarding future earnings, expenses, net interest income, other income, earnings or loss per share, asset mix and quality, growth prospects, capital structure, and other financial terms, (b) statements of plans and objectives of management or the Board of Directors, and (c) statements of assumptions, such as economic conditions in the Corporation’s market areas. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes”, “expects”, “may”, “intends”, “will”, “should”, “anticipates”, or the negative of any of the foregoing or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussion of strategy. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties such as local economic conditions, competitive factors, and regulatory limitations. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and experience to differ from those projected include, but are not limited to, the following: the effects of governmental and fiscal policies, as well as legislative and regulatory changes; the effects of new laws and regulations, specifically the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; impacts of the capital and liquidity requirements of the Basel III standards; the effects of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other accounting standard setters; ineffectiveness of the business strategy due to changes in current or future market conditions; future actions or inactions of the United States government, including the effects of short- and long-term federal budget and tax negotiations and a failure to increase the government debt limit or a prolonged shutdown of the federal government; the effects of economic conditions particularly with regard to the negative impact of severe, wide-ranging and continuing disruptions caused by the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the responses thereto on the operations of the Corporation and current customers, specifically the effect of the economy on loan customers’ ability to repay loans; the effects of competition, and of changes in laws and regulations on competition, including industry consolidation and development of competing financial products and services; the risks of changes in interest rates on the level and composition of deposits, loan demand, and the values of loan collateral, securities, and interest rate protection agreements, as well as interest rate risks; difficulties in acquisitions and integrating and operating acquired business operations, including information technology difficulties; challenges in establishing and maintaining operations in new markets; the effects of technology changes; volatilities in the securities markets; the effect of general economic conditions and more specifically in the Corporation’s market areas; the failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of reserves for loan losses and estimations of values of collateral and various financial assets and liabilities; acts of war or terrorism; disruption of credit and equity markets; the ability to manage current levels of impaired assets; the loss of certain key officers; the ability to maintain the value and image of the Corporation’s brand and protect the Corporation’s intellectual property rights; continued relationships with major customers; and, potential impacts to the Corporation from continually evolving cybersecurity and other technological risks and attacks, including additional costs, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and financial losses. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. They only reflect management’s analysis as of this date. The Corporation does not revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or changed circumstances. Please carefully review the risk factors described in other documents the Corporation files from time to time with the SEC, including the Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Please also carefully review any Current Reports on Form 8-K filed by the Corporation with the SEC.
Contact: Lynda L. Glass
EVP/Secretary &
Chief Governance Officer
lglass@acnb.com
Acnb Corp
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Case Study: Glengariff Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center (July 2020)
Patient’s Age: 87-years-old
Admission Date: 07/15/20
Admitted From: North Shore Manhasset
Reason for Stay: Rehabilitation
How did this patient hear about Glengariff Rehabilitation & Nursing Center? She was told about our rehabilitation facility by her family while at the hospital.
Ms. Anamaria R. L. was admitted to the Glengariff Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on July 15th, 2020. Prior to being admitted to Glengariff, she was admitted to the North Shore University Hospital due to the fact that she could not walk, having sustained a left fracture of her femur while walking her dog. At the subacute rehab service at the hospital, they recommended subacute, short term rehabilitation. Mrs. R. and her daughter, Ozana, were informed by the staff about Glengariff and our reputation for rehabilitation. Due to Covid-19, virtual tours were completed and the family chose our community, and arrangements were made for Anamaria to be transferred to Glengariff.
When Anamaria arrived at Glengariff, her family was concerned about her lack of balance, mobility, and strength. Her daughter knew the fracture would heal, but she was concerned about her ability to manage stairs. Anamaria was not able to walk by herself, and she did not know if she would be able to do so for more than five steps. She attempted it and was able to walk 20 feet with an assistive Rollator device.
She exhibited reduced quad strength and weak trunk and hip extensors. This created additional experiences of anxiety. Activities in the bathroom involved total dependence on the staff. Shortly after her arrival, Anamaria started to make strides, both figuratively and literally. Her strength improved, and her steps increased; from 10 steps with substantial assistance to 150 feet in less than a week! As the therapy continued, Anamaria’s goals were reset again, establishing new benchmarks for her to achieve.
With the staff coming to provide both intensive physical therapy and the Concierge team keeping Anamaria connected to her family through FaceTime calls, she got stronger and abler with each passing day. She was so relieved by this clinical and emotional support, which helped her feel calm. She could now focus on getting better and improving her techniques at maneuvering, sitting up in bed, toileting, and bathing.
She could not climb any stairs when she was admitted and was at high risk for falls. But within the mere week of her stay, Anamaria was mounting and descending 3 stairs at a clip and walking 150 feet unassisted!! There was supervision, but no actual physical help. When Anamaria was wheeled out on the day of her discharge, she rose out of her wheelchair effortlessly and strode over to her daughter’s car. As we spoke in the lobby before she left, she confessed a worry about being able to handle her new independence. We reminded her that she was just as dubious about her ability to walk and stand when she first arrived at Glengariff. But just as sure as she had made incredible strides at our community, she would go on to thrive in her new reality.
Throughout his stay, until her departure before our eyes less than 2 weeks later, Anamaria was pleased with our staff and how they took care of her. She described them as, “kind and compassionate.” In regard to her care, her daughter could still now recall the name of her physician, Dr. Stanford, who was a calming and solidifying force when she could not enter the community to see her mother. When she was on a call with her mother, she could hear the attentiveness of the staff throughout the day.
After a few weeks of participating in rigorous rehabilitation therapy, Anamaria was able to get out of bed on her own with only minimal cues of supervision and she was improving in performing the basic activities of daily living. Her progress was rapid and encouraging.
At the point of her discharge on July 29, 2020, Anamaria was able to climb three steps with only modest assistance and could travel 150 feet continuously without breaks, and could turn in place successfully over 80% of the time. “Had she come home immediately after acute rehabilitation, a fall would have been very likely,” her daughter said. Instead, when she arrived at her home, she was able to climb the stairs at the entrance because of the care and commitment of the team. Another success story of hard work and dedication created from the bond between the patient and the care team at Glengariff.
Her next objective is getting in her own car and getting back on the road! She’s already getting in and out of the driver’s seat.
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position:Home > Child Welfare
Overview of CCCWA Child Welfare Program
CCCWA has been committed to developing its functions in the field of child welfare while making efforts in helping orphans and disabled children find permanent homes. In 2004, entrusted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, CCCWA began to carry out a series of special welfare programs for children, such as the Tomorrow Plan (program for the operation and rehabilitation of disabled orphans), domestic adoption and child care etc. We have formed a set of mature model for operation, making significant contribution to improving the rehabilitation, basic life and education of orphaned and disabled children, strengthening the construction of the work force in welfare institutions, standardizing and improving the adoption work in China. In January 2011, CCCWA, which used to be called "China Center of Adoption Affairs", was renamed. With more mandates in child welfare, we will provide a new platform for further development of China's child welfare.
At present, we have made fruitful achievements in all aspects of child welfare: with a view to meet the demands of children, we have offered trainings in child upbringing and nursing, nutrition and health care, rehabilitation of cerebral palsy, special education, psychological health consultation to welfare institutions and established occupational skill training system of “caregivers for the orphaned and disabled children ”, leading to stronger service functions of welfare institutions. We have also established the long-term mechanism of "tomorrow plan", improved the treatment network of designated hospitals, made more efforts in screening, treatment and surgeries of children with rare and severe diseases and promoted the construction of standard demonstration base for training on cerebral palsy rehabilitation. Besides, we have also been cooperating with Changsha Social Work College in carrying out the
"Higher Education Supporting Program for Orphaned and Disabled children". With our support through forms of independent enrollment, early admission and tuition funding, the orphans and disabled children from welfare agencies can go to college where they can improve their educational level and self-reliance. Also we have launched the program of the National Child Welfare Information Management System, which provides not only an effective technical support for real-time management and dynamic monitoring of the distribution of children’s basic living allowance but also an accurate and scientific analysis on data for the policy making in child welfare and evaluation of their social benefits. Furthermore, we have made in-depth investigation and analysis on the status quo of adoption in China and relevant measures and established the long-term mechanism for legal placement of abandoned infants, and we have taken the lead in introducing the idea of "baby hatch", helping set up the first "baby hatch" in Shijiazhuang Social Welfare Institution. In July 2013, the General Office from the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a paper on the "Baby Hatch" Pilot Scheme proposed by CCCWA, and then the pilot work gradually spread nationwide. We also promote the social service quality in children welfare institutions by introducing social work into the institutions and selected 30 children welfare institutions as pilot bases for social work and granted funds for their construction.
Meanwhile, in order to attract and integrate more extensive resources and accelerate the development China’s child welfare, CCCWA makes full use of its advantage in broad oversea cooperation under the support of foreign adoption agencies experienced in charity work. We have built platforms through advanced training, program cooperation, exchanges and visits, etc. to conduct active international exchanges and cooperation in special education, care giving, rehabilitation and fostering of orphaned and disabled children so as to learn the advanced concepts and experience in the development of child welfare work from developed countries. In recent years, we have cooperated with many corporations or organizations, such as adoption agencies from the USA, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark etc., Half-the-Sky Foundation, Love Without Boundaries Foundation, Belgian Handicap International, Joint Council on International Children's Services, J. P. Morgan Foundation, Mead Johnson and Heinz Co. Ltd, instilling new vitality into the development of China's child welfare affairs.
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With Bitcoin and cryptofinance in the news, blockchain programming has suddenly become very important but most people - including many programmers - do not have a clear idea on how to write a program on the blockchain. This article is not about theoretical concepts like Merkle Trees and SHA256 Hash. It is about how to write an application that creates, reads, updates and deletes a data record from a 'database' on the blockchain. A CRUD application. If you are impressed by Powerpoint slides in Zoom Webinars, you may skip this article, but if you are a programmer -- professionals or hobbyist -- do read on. You will end up writing your first blockchain application without too much sweat.
I first came across Bitcoins as currency in the virtual world of Second Life and wrote about "Bitcoins - my first look at a new currency" in 2013 and then I struggled to wrap my head around this fantastic concept for almost a year until I reached a point where I could write "Bitcoins - as I understood it." While Bitcoin itself was a fascinating concept - an esoteric cocktail of mathematics, programming and economic concepts worthy of a Nobel Prize in Economics - the underlying technology of blockchain was even more fascinating. The incredible potential of this technology became evident with the advent of the Ethereum Virtual Machine and intrigued me enough to explore the concept of the CryptoCorporation, a strange, but successful automatic, manager-less organisation that could create value out of thin air and finally in 2016, I was finally able build my own cryptocoin using Smartcontracts running on the Ethereum blockchain.
Back in 2016, writing blockchain programs were not for the faint-hearted, because there were two big stumbling blocks.
First, one had to install a whole suite of very complex software -- including wallets -- on the laptop and
Second, one had to buy Ether, with credit cards, and use it each time you wanted to run, or even test a program that you had written.
This was frustrating, to say the least. First, if you had to replace or change your computer, there was this great likelihood of not just losing your software stack but also your Ether wallet unless you had the foresight and the ability ( which very few had) to keep proper backups. The other huge challenge was the sudden decision of the RBI / Government of India, not too ban cryptocurrency, but to bar banks from allowing people to purchase cryptocurrency using normal, legitimate banking channels like credit cards. Hence while the whole world, including China, raced ahead with blockchain technology, programmers in India were left with no option but to only watch from the sidelines. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has lifted this ban in March 2020 and blockchain programmers can start work again after losing nearly two years of sitting it out in the wilderness.
image from Forbes.com
But blockchain programming is so very different from 'normal' programming that most programmers have difficulty in wrapping their heads around the concept. Forget about the concept of smart contracts, even basic stuff like writing, reading and updating a piece of data becomes esoteric because apparently there is no one machine where program resides or executes. It took me quite a while to understand this and once I did, the elegance and beauty of it all took my breath away. Which is why I thought of writing it down, not just for my own clarity but for other programmers who could possibly be in the same boat as well. While I have tried to keep my post as simple as possible, please note that reading beyond this point means that you have some programming experience that goes beyond Excel. An exhaustive manual would be far too long but if you are like me, a hobbyist with a penchant for coding, sit back and enjoy this ride.
This tutorial is based on two important premises :
Only the bare minimum software will be installed on the local laptop, we will use hosted software as much as possible.
We will not spend any real money -- as in using credit cards.
Without any further ado, let us start with
The Big Picture / Architecture
A theoretical and mathematical description of the blockchain is given in this article but for all practical purposes it consists of a network of computers (the MainNet) that run the the full Ethereum node software. All full nodes contain identical copies of two artifacts : (a) a node software application and (b) a huge database file that is called the blockchain. Both the node application and the block chain are kept in continuous sync by constant exchange of messages between nodes, all of which have a peer-to-peer relationship with each other. In addition to the MainNet, there are other private and public chains called Test Nets with names like Ropsten, Rinkeby, Roerli etc.
In traditional three-tier client server architecture we have three components.
Client software written in, say Python, Javascript, VisualBasic, or in many cases running inside an Internet Browser like Chrome, Mozilla or Edge. This provides the user interface.
Application software, written in say, PHP, Ruby, Python that resides within an application server or web server like Apache. This provides the business logic.
A persistent data store like MySQL. Obviously the application server (Apache) and the database server (MySQL) may or may not reside in the same physical machine.
Developers build applications by writing both client-side programs (in Javascript, Python) that are hosted in the client machine and server-side program (in PHP, Python etc) that are hosted in the web-server. There is also the case of client side software being stored in the server and downloaded and used inside a browser, but we shall park that aside for the time being. The database engine, MySQL ( or equivalent) is not written but purchased or downloaded and installed on an appropriate machine. If you are a programmer, all this will be very easy for you to understand.
In the blockchain architecture we have a two tier setup
Client application written in Javascript, Python (there could be others, but I have not used other languages) or running in an Internet Browser. As in traditional client-server architecture, the client software provides the user interface which may or may not be GUI.
'Contracts' - a new term used only in the blockchain -- written in a language called Solidity - again a new language used on blockchains - that holds BOTH business logic AND persistent data.
Since contracts are the new kids in the block, let us look at them a little carefully
Think of a contract as an instance of a object from the world of Object Oriented programming. This means that the contract has both logic ( as in methods, or functions) and data. But unlike OO objects which can have multiple instances, there is only one instance of a contract. Like OO objects, contracts can inherit properties from other contracts.
The state of a contract -- as defined by the data that it holds -- can be changed through a transaction. A transaction can be initiated from a client application either by a human being or some automated process
A contract is deployed into and resides in the blockchain. Hence it is available on all computers on all networks and all copies are in the same state. Each contract is identified with its own unique address that is generated when a contract is deployed in the blockchain through any node.
A wallet is special kind of contract that holds a defined quantity of Ether. A transaction can deposit any amount of Ether into a wallet contract but to withdraw the Ether from a wallet contract, one must provide a password ( aka 'the private key') of this specific wallet. So a wallet is a contract defined by its address (similar to a bank account) and its private key (similar to specimen signature in a bank account)
When a client application connects to any node (through a standard URL) it requests or calls a contract that is now loaded from the blockchain on the node where it resides to the Ethereum Virtual Machine running on the same node. On the EVM, the contract performs the task -- in the process, it may or may not change its state -- and then is put back in its new state back into the blockchain.
It is actually a misnomer to say that the state of the contract is changed. The blockchain is immutable, it can be added to but earlier data cannot be changed. When we say that the state of the contract is changed, what we really mean is that the original contract along with all transactions that were supposed to change it are ALL stored in the blockchain. Hence the current state of the contract can -- and is -- recreated. This may sound incredibly inefficient when compared to, say a relational database, but it is the only option when there is no central authority ( like the MySQL database adminstrator) who is trusted by everyone in the network. Which is why it does not make any sense to port an application from a traditional three-tier platform to the blockchain platform where there exists a clear central authority, like a statutory body and its database administrator, to own manage a central database.. Blockchain applications are meant to handle situations where there are multiple operators -- all of whom are peers, without a central hierarchy -- and there is no reason to trust any or all of them.
Finally, in addition to the client application and the Solidity contract, that a developer needs to build there is a third 'joker' that the developer needs to deal with - a payment. Since the transaction is getting executed on network node, the owner of the node needs to be incentivised or compensated for their investment in hardware and electricity. In the Bitcoin network this incentive is in the form of new coin that is mined ( that is another long story -- see here, and here ) but in the Ethereum ecosystem it is a combination of mining and an actual fee that must be paid by the client application to the node owner in the form of Ether. On the Main Net, this is real Ether that has be mined or purchased but in the other Test Nets, there is a lot 'fake' or 'toy' Ether that is freely available. Think of this as monopoly money with which we buy properties in the Monopoly game. This Ether - real or fake, depending on the network being used - must be sent along with the transaction request.
The second part of this tutorial will show you how to to build
a Solidity contract pmCrudCon.sol to manage employee data ( empID, empName, empSalary)
a Python Application to Insert, Update, Display and Delete this Data
Located this coin among others in a locker being cleaned out. Charanpreet Singh helped me decode the text that reads 19 Zarb Murshidabad and Badshah Alam Shah 1204. Used this information to get some more information from an auction site.
Deepawali acquisition!
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of years you would know for sure that things are happening in the area of Artificial Intelligence. Rapid developments in the area of artificial neural networks has spawned a brood of useful architectures - CNN, RNN, GAN - that have been used to solve a range of very interesting problems. These include, among others
control of autonomous or self driving vehicles
identifying visual elements in a scenery
recognising faces or connecting bio-metrics to individual identities
automatic translation from one language to another
generating text and visual content that is indistinguishable from that generated by human intellect.
While these applications have created considerable excitement both in the technical as well as in the commercial community, there has been an undercurrent of resentment among certain people against what they view as ethical issues that are yet to be unresolved.
To understand what is at stake let us consider two specific issues from the area of autonomous vehicles.
First who is liable in the case of an accident? In some countries, the liability lies with the owner of the vehicle while in others, it lies with the driver who was at the wheel when the accident occurs. But in the case of autonomous vehicles there is a point of view that says that the liability should be with the manufacturer. If at all it was the fault of the autonomous vehicle, and not the other party to the accident, then the fault lies with the autonomous system - hardware sensors and controlling software - that has been supplied by the manufacturer. This is similar to a brake failure except that the owner, driver has no way to check the equipment prior to starting out to drive.
Second, and this is more interesting, is the question of whose life is more important? Suppose a pedestrian comes in the way of a moving vehicle whose speed is such that an application of brakes will not be able to stop the car from hitting the pedestrian. The only maneuver that is possible is for the car to turn away and hit a wall. In either case the injury or death will happen either to the pedestrian or to the driver. For the sake of this argument, we can simplify the situation by ignoring issues like estimating the expected quantum of injury in the two cases and the subsequent possibility of death or extent of disfigurement and come out with a binary situation - whose life is more valuable? The driver or the pedestrian?
image from berkeley.edu
These may look like very profound questions and are very often portrayed as such but frankly they are not.
In the first case, there is no need to split hairs on the liability. Lawyers may love the possibility of litigation and accountants may salivate at the the thought of extracting money from car manufacturers but for the technologist, this is a no-brainer. Most car accidents are because of driver error, except of course when a pedestrian behaves randomly, and with the advent of autonomous vehicles the possibility of driver error virtually disappears. So if the vehicle software has been adequately tested - like vaccines! -- before they are released in the 'wild', the number of accidents will, in any case, go down dramatically. So the overall cost of accidents will go down but individual cases will be paid out of the general corpus of funds created by collecting premiums from all vehicle owners, that are calculated by usual statistical ( or actuarial) analysis. In fact, this no different from a mechanical failure which in any case is factored into the economics of insurance. Net-net, there is no issue at all. It is just another unfortunate accident that has to be factored in to the premium calculation process, perhaps with an additional line item.
The second issue can also be dealt with quite easily. Who should die? The pedestrian or the driver? In the case of a human driver both situations are possible. Some drivers will slam on the brakes and hope that the car will stop before hitting the pedestrian while other drivers will turn the car and hit the wall. There is no hard and fast logic and nor is there time for a thorough analysis, ethical or otherwise, of the various options. It is a gut-feel reaction that is best modeled by a random probability. So the simple way to break the tie is to toss a coin -- or simulate the coin toss with a random number generator -- and take a decision on whether the coin shows head or tails.
If it is a fair coin, there is a 50% chance of either outcome and so the software can be programmed to take one decision or the other on the basis of this probability. This would reflect the regular, or underlying, reality of a human driver. So the behaviour of the autonomous vehicle would in no way be different from the behaviour of a vehicle driven by a human being. If we have learnt to live with human drivers we can continue to live with autonomous vehicles.
The 50% rule is a kind of a default starting point. If it is observed that most drivers are altruistic and prefer to save the pedestrian at the cost of their own health then the probability of hitting the wall can be raised from 50% to 60%. On the other hand, if it is observed that most drivers are selfish and prefer to kill the pedestrian and save themselves, then the probability of hitting the wall can be lowered to 40%. These probability numbers mean that the coin being tossed is not a fair coin but a biased one and reflects the inherent bias of society at large.
This solves the problem of the autonomous car but opens up another Pandora's Box.
Should AI ( or Deep Learning ) systems have a bias at all? Or should they always be fair? This is important because Deep Learning systems are trained on the basis of a history of past behaviour of human systems. This training is done by collecting data on how decisions have been taken in the past and using this data to set the parameters. In simple systems, these parameters could be probability values but in neural networks they are the weights that are assigned to different connections between nodes. The exact technology is not important here. What is important is whether the training data has bias and whether this bias is carried through from the non-computer system to the computer system.
For example, it has been observed that in the US, both parole applications and loan applications are more likely to be rejected if the applicant is a black person because of a historical bias against this particular demographic segment. When this data is used train a AI / DL system, this bias is carried through and once again, blacks will be discriminated against. [ Of course, there is another point of view that states that automated, machine based decisions have less bias -- see this (paywalled) link -- but that is another story and another debate.]
Obviously this is patently unfair and should not be allowed and hence there is a strong move to ensure that AI systems do not suffer from bias. There is no question about that ...
But does that mean that AI / DL should not be built until we have resolved the issue of bias? This is where the debate takes on an ugly turn between the proponents of ethics in AI and those who would rather stick to the technology of AI. For the former, the question of ethics is paramount and they would rather not have AI unless it is certified to be bias free. For the latter, the matter of ethics is secondary. They would rather focus on creating innovative technology and leave the matter of ethics for another day.
Faced with this choice, my sympathies clearly lie with the latter, the technologists and the reason is very simple. The world is not fair and can only be so in the dreams of the Utopian idealist. Since we do not have the luxury of living in an ideal utopia, expecting AI to be ethical and bias free is an impossible dream. The world has learn to live with bias and will continue to be so. If ethics was really as essential for the survival of the human race then we should have shut down the armaments business (and possibly a large part of the pharmaceutical and hospital business as well) But we have not done so, because of an irresistible, or inevitable, convergence of economic, political and social power.
Any country, or society, that shuts down its armaments business or disbands its armed forces will be overrun and taken over by another country that does not subscribe to this Gandhian policy of pointless non-violence. This was brutally demonstrated during the 1962 China War where India's idealistic Principles of Panchsheel were brutally shoved aside by the rampaging Chinese PLA. While a measure of ethics is certainly good, making it an absolute framework that is at odds with the ambient reality is neither possible, nor desirable. So is the case with AI. There are many people who feel that the so-called 'liberal' countries like the United States should not use technology like facial recognition at all because it is an unethical violation of privacy. Little do they realise that 'non-liberal' countries like China are already using it in a big way to enhance their own security and if the imbalance continues it will be as stupid as shutting down the armaments industry.
Any technology - from nuclear through genetics and space to artificial intelligence -- can be weaponised. That does not mean that development must stop. Let us go in with our eyes wide open, be aware of the dangers but also be aware of what is happening elsewhere and make sure that we do not vacate or step back from the leading, or bleeding, edge.
To sum up, let us understand that bias is inevitable in any human society. We should try to minimise it but hoping to eliminate it is impossible. So is the case with non-human, silicon based intelligence or for that matter for any non-human sentience that will eventually arise from this technology.
Turtles upon Turtles
Abstract : Information, or rather information technology, is the basis of the digital economy that we live in but is there something more fundamental to information that goes beyond the thousands of digital computers that we come in touch with in our daily lives? This article explores how information could be the basis of the material world itself, which in turn is merely a simulation generated by the processing of information.
To do so we note that in social media and in Massively Multiuser Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) users live in a world that is not what it seems to be. This leads to the question whether the world that we see around us is really real, or as described in Sankar’s Vedanta and the movie Matrix, is a simulation. This simulation hypothesis is explored further on the basis of Brian Whitworths paper on the feasibility of the world being an illusion. Finally we demonstrate how this illusory world can be created purely on the basis of information through the equivalence between Boltzman entropy and Shannon entropy and a practical implementation of Maxwell’s demon in Szilard's engine.
The latest version of this paper is available at this link.
We believe that we have the ability to discern the real from the illusory or the virtual. We know it because in our own life we play out multiple roles. Your behaviour is different when you are at home, at work or when you are with your school friends or office colleagues at a resort. At home you could be an altruistic parent or a housing society officer or a poet. At work you could be a hard taskmaster, a glib salesman or an ace opportunist. With your friends in the resort you could be rolling on the floor. So which is one is you? Which is the REAL you? Would you know? Would you care? Or would you say that you are all of them and some more and the difference between these personas is blurred.
Now let us extend this to the world of social media. Where you could be a 'bhakt' or a 'psecular' and be in a violent confrontation with the other. Even if you are not a political person you could be crafting an identity for yourself as a geek, or a sage and if you succeed that is how you would be seen by your 'friends', followers or connections in social media. It is not unlikely that your identity in social media is a magnification of only one of your 'real' identities, possibly your professional identity or then again an identity that is defined by whom you hangout with. Or you could be crafting a totally artificial identity with a hidden agenda in mind. Depending on the amount of time you spend, or invest, in social media and the number of connections that you build up there, it is not impossible that this social identity overrides what your original identity was, or what you thought it was. In fact, going forward, your digital identity that has a far greater reach than your physical identity will increasingly become your dominant identity. More people might know you as you appear in social media than the fewer who know you in real life. But then, what is really your real life?
Now that you know that your original identity could very well be hidden or masked behind other more visible layers -- and frankly, masks have been around since much before the Wuhan virus -- what about people who are around you? It is almost certain that they too -- in social media and in the real world -- would be wearing masks as well, just like you.
When we look around we see ourselves enmeshed in a network of relationships -- personal or professional, commercial or otherwise -- that defines who we are with respect to the world around us. But if every member of this network is wearing a mask and is not who they seem to be then the network loses its structural rigidity, its deterministic nature and its discriminatory potential. It becomes instead an amorphous and shape-shifting cloud of illusions that is as impossible to pin down as the ephemeral Maria in the movie Sound of Music -- how do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
So what was known and deterministic becomes uncertain, unreliable and illusory. What you see is not what it seems to be but something else. Perceptions take precedence over the primacy of facts. Wise men say that opinions ( or perceptions) are free but facts are sacred. In this case, the wise men are not so wise after all because while fact may be sacred, these facts are not accessible anymore. They are hidden behind layers and layers of illusions.
This gets even more complicated, and interesting, when we move from the flat, text based world of social media and into simulated three dimensional worlds. These virtual worlds are available in, or accessible through, Massively Multiuser Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, PUBG, CounterStrike. Non-violent, non-combative but equally enchanting are the simulated virtual worlds like Second Life -- that happens to be the author's favourite -- that are based on similar technology but have different goals and narratives.
What are the common features of all these virtual worlds ? (i) A 2D image of a 3D landscape that is visible on the computer screen. (ii) The presence of humanoid figures, or avatars, in this landscape that are controlled either by users or by artificial intelligence software in which case they are called NPC or non-playing characters. (iii) The ability of the avatars and NPCs to interact with each other and with other elements of the landscape through sound, visual cues and physical contact like push or ‘fight’, (iv) The ability of users, through their avatars, to build, demolish or operate specific elements of the landscape like buildings, cars and other inert or active artifacts. (v) The existence of quests or challenges that each user, through their avatar, is expected to accomplish, either alone or in collaboration with other users/avatars. This could include creating buildings, occupying territory, locating and exploiting hidden resources or acquiring skills to perform one or more of these tasks.
A social media handle and an MMORPG avatar are essentially the same, in the sense that they allow an individual to interact with others through a common, intermediate platform. On Facebook, you can build a page and your handle can argue with others, while in MMORPG, you can build a castle or have a fight with other avatars. What is different is the extent of realism or similarity with real life where an MMORPG avatar is far more realistic than a social media handle. With the advent of virtual reality or augmented reality gadgets, like helmets, spectacles and gloves, the level of realism can be increased till it is almost impossible to differentiate between the virtual and the real.
In fact, the illusory nature of both the MMORPG avatar and social media handle can be extended into the illusory nature of the multiple personalities that we carry in real life. This is where the border between the real and the virtual world becomes increasingly blurred. What is real and what is illusory becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish. For your own self, it may still be possible to switch between alternate realities and hence distinguish one from the other but for people around you it becomes increasingly difficult to detect the real you, especially if the digital channel is the only channel of communication. Similarly, it becomes impossible for you to detect and distinguish between the alternate realities for the people around you and the worlds that they inhabit. Each of us live in our own cocoon of perceptions that shields us from the reality of the external world. We live in ..
Maya or The Matrix, The World of Illusions
Maya is an idea that was first articulated by Sankaracharya, the 8th century Hindu savant, who distilled the concept from the primordial Upanishadic insights. Much later, in the 20th century, it was introduced into western popular culture through The Matrix, a movie set in a not too distant dystopian future.
Sankar’s philosophy of Vedanta posits that Brahman is the only real entity in the sentient universe. The Brahman -- which is different from the Brahman jati, as in Brahman, Kayastha, Bania (or Beney) etc. -- is the embodiment of Truth, Consciousness and Pleasure, or Sat-Chit-Ananda, that is without form, qualities or attributes. It is pure knowledge or information that has no equivalent in the world that we are familiar with. This Brahman for no reason but out of its own desire, creates, or dreams up, a physical world where objects have form, qualities and attributes. This is Maya, that, for the lack of a better word, is described as an illusion or a dream. Within this Maya and because of it, the physical world exists as a multitude of objects that exhibit a wide range of forms and qualities. Some of these objects are conscious and sentient in the sense that they have the ability to observe and interact with other objects within this illusory world. These conscious entities are called Atman that are an extension of the formless Brahman but because of the shroud of Maya, they see themselves as an imperfect reflection of their true nature, the Brahman -- the ultimate reality. However, some of these conscious and sentient objects acquire the ability to understand the illusory nature of the world around them. These are the mystics, the Yogis, for whom Maya dissolves and they see, realise, or experience the continuity of the seer and the seen, the subject and the object, and of themselves -- with form, shape, qualities -- with the formless and shapeless Brahman. This is the Monistic philosophy of Vedanta that is significantly different from the monotheistic religions that sees the duality of a creator God that is distinct from his creation, the world and its people.
For a person who is a product of Maya and is immersed in it, the fact that the world around them is illusory is almost impossible to accept. The Matrix movie demonstrated a hypothetical, sci-fi, framework where this could be implemented. In the movie, every human body is, right from birth, deprived of all sensory information from the real world -- of real mountains, real machines and the few real people who exist in it -- and is instead fed an alternate set of information that is sent directly to the sensory part of the brain. This means that the brain is only aware of this alternate information and hence constructs its own alternate world -- complete with its illusory mountains, machines and people. This alternate world is created with a software program called the Matrix. The story, that is too well known to be retold here, is all about how some real people detach one such body -- that of the hero, Neo -- from the Matrix and opens his eyes, literally and metaphorically. Now that he can see for himself that there is a real world that is different from the alternate illusions that his brain and body have grown up with, he can make a choice to take either a red pill or a blue pill and choose for himself the world that he wants to live in. Unfortunately, the choice between the red pill and the blue pill is not available to most people, or body-brain combinations, so their brain continues to live in the alternate reality created by the Matrix as long as the body is in a state to function.
The Matrix was released in 1999 and since then, technology has moved by leaps and bounds. While all that is described in the Matrix is far from being a reality today, nevertheless there has been substantial progress. The ability to create virtual worlds is very well established with MMORPG products that we have discussed earlier and the usage of advanced display devices like virtual reality and augmented reality helmets, gloves, etc allow for an extreme level of immersion. Moreover it is now possible to connect the human brain directly to external, digital devices and it is possible to have bidirectional movement of information. Signals from the brain are routinely being used to control external devices, giving rise to thought-controlled devices like wheelchairs and MMORPG game objects. The reverse process of sending external digital signals back to the brain to create an artificial illusion is also possible but is not as effective as the outward process.
So the Matrix is not totally sci-fi as it seemed to be when it was released in 1999. We now have the bits and pieces of technology that were referred to and it is a matter of putting it all together to replicate what The Matrix talked about and make the transition from science fiction to science reality. However there is one aspect of the movie that is still far from being replicated in reality and that is the role of intelligent computers in building the physical infrastructure for the Matrix to operate. In the movie, it is the computer -- software and robots -- who do all this whereas today, the MMORPG and brain-computer interfaces are still designed and built by humans. Hence there exists a fairly well delineated boundary between the virtual reality of MMORPG and the real reality of the external world. So it is always possible for anyone to exercise the choice of the blue pill or the red pill -- to continue to live in virtual reality or to switch off the display device and come back to the “real” world.
But what if this choice is withdrawn? Either voluntarily or as compulsion. What if it is mandated that going forward every child will have an implant on their skull that will allow an external digital feed to send signals directly to the brain and in the process drown out the natural signals from the eyes, ears, nose, touch and tongue? Assuming bodily functions are taken care of by someone else, the child will grow up -- just as in The Matrix -- in an alternate reality. One challenge could be the ability to procreate through the the act of sex. This could be overcome in the alternate reality by simulating the feeling of sex, of ejaculation, of orgrasm and eventually of the labour pain leading to the sensation of touching and feeling of the child. In the physical reality, procreation is simpler because of artificial insemination and subsequent childbirth. Which is why we say that the premise of The Matrix is theoretically not impossible though there must be a dramatic change in the socio-cultural structure of human society.
Which makes us wonder if this has already happened as a part of biological evolution? What if we already are a part of and surrounded by an illusory world where our five modes of sensing the external world are nothing more than digital signals sent into our brains. In fact, in the previous section we have seen that, in a sense, we have already isolated ourselves in a cocoon of perception -- created with our multiple personalities, our social media personas and MMORPG avatars -- that shields us from the reality of the external world. Have we already taken the blue pill that allows us to live in an altered reality. But perhaps there is no real choice between the red pill and the blue pill because what we think of as the physical reality does not exist at all. If we can liberate us from the technology or theology of the Matrix, rid ourselves from our dependence on biology, then we can think of ourselves as non-biological artifacts, or avatars that are being operated by a higher level of sentient beings. Which leads us to echo Sankar and ask whether we are living amidst an illusory Maya and ...
Are we a simulation ?
The simulation hypothesis is not new. It has been around for quite some time but was articulated in its current form by Nick Bostrom [2003] and was made into a movie, Are You Real [ YouTube, 2006] by the author. Of late, many people including Elon Musk have enthusiastically supported this proposition but the most comprehensive articulation for this point of view is Whitworth’s paper, “The emergence of the physical world from information processing”. See Brian Whitworth, Quantum Biosystems 2010, 2 (1) 221-249, [https://arxiv.org/abs/1011.3436]. [ alternate http://bit.ly/BrianWhitworth ]
The fundamental premise of Whitworth’s paper is that there are two hypotheses namely:
The objective reality hypothesis: That our reality is an objective reality that exists in and of itself and being self-contained needs nothing beside itself.
The virtual reality hypothesis: That our reality is a virtual reality that only exists by information processing beyond itself, upon which it depends.
Obviously, Whitworth is a strong proponent of the second, the virtual reality, hypothesis and has put together an impressive collection of conjectures, arguments and facts to support his case. There is little point in repeating the same arguments here except to point out that he uses the logic of Occam's Razor very elegantly to demonstrate twelve facts that are far simpler to explain with virtual reality than with a physical universe. However, in his conclusions and discussion Whitworth introduces the concept of the physical reality being an interface and explains it as follows :
Figure 4 gives the reality model options.
The first is a simple objective reality that observes itself (Figure 4a). This gives the illogicality of a thing creating itself and doesn't explain the strangeness of modern physics, but it is accepted by most people.
The second option argues that since all human perceptions arise from neural information
signals, our reality could be a virtual one, which in fiction stories is created by gods, aliens vs machines, for study, amusement or profit (Figure 4b). This is not in fact illogical and explains some inexplicable physics, but few people believe that the world is an illusion created by our minds. Rather they believe that there is a real world out there, that exists whether we see it or not.
The third option, of a reality that uses a virtual reality to know itself, is this model (Figure
4c). As this paper asserts and later papers expand, it is logically consistent, supports realism and fits the facts of modern physics. In it, the observer exists as a source of consciousness, the observed also exists as a source of realism, but the observer-observed interactions are equivalent to virtual images that are only locally real. This is not a virtuality created by a reality apart, but by a reality to and from itself. If the physical world is an interface to allow an existence to interact with itself, then it is like no information interface that we know.
This third option is in fact nothing more than a restatement of the concept of Maya, the illusion, or what we refer to as virtual reality. This is where the Atman, the individual observer, sees itself as different from the Brahman through the prism, or illusion, or Maya, of virtual reality. When Maya that creates the illusion of reality is removed, the Atman sees itself as it really is, an extension of the Brahman -- the fundamental unity of a Monistic universe.
While we may be veering around to the idea that we are indeed a simulation and the physical reality that we see around us is actually a virtual reality that is created by the processing of information, there remains a nagging doubt. How can the world around me, the world that I can touch and feel be not real? Even if the world around us is a simulation then there must be something physical on which the simulation must execute. In the Matrix, this was the biological body of the humans who were trapped in the Matrix from their birth to their death. In the case of MMORPG, it is the ‘hardware’ of physical computers on which the information to simulate the world must be processed. Where is this hardware? One could argue that this hardware is also a simulation as we have in the case of VMs or virtual machines that we see in many platforms like Oracle VMWare or Dockers but that is merely postponing the problem and not addressing it. VMs may be virtual but then they must execute on underlying physical machines.
This issue has been addressed in the concept of "Turtles all the way down". This is an expression of the problem of infinite regress that alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports the flat earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly large world turtles that continues indefinitely (i.e., "turtles all the way down"). This idea has been expressed in the mythology of many cultures including that of India but once again, this postpones the problem without addressing it.
Which brings us to the next important question. What is more fundamental -- matter or information? Does information depend on the existence of matter or does matter depends on the existence of information. In the first case, we would need a physical computer to process and display information and in the second case, information itself is adequate to create the illusion of matter. Common sense would say that matter is primary and information is something that emerges if and only if there is a material mechanism to process it. However, quantum mechanics has repeatedly shown that common sense is not a very reliable mechanism and many of the cherished principles are extremely counterintuitive -- as in the same particle taking two different paths or in the instantaneous transfer of information through the process of quantum entanglement. Once we ignore this so-called common sense, many things fall into place including what John Wheeler referred to as IT from bit or IT from qubit. This suggests that material bodies can emerge from a bit of information or, as is the case now, a quantum bit.
But if we look a little deeper, the concept is not as counterintuitive as it seems to begin with.
That "information is power" is a statement that is often made both figuratively and loosely, but can it be literally true? Is it possible to find links between information and the stuff that they refer to in physics text books? Obviously the information that you read in the newspaper cannot be easily related to the power that causes a light bulb to glow. To simplify both sides of the equivalence, or analogy, and see if we can find a real link between the two. .....
This part of the article needs mathematical symbols that are not possible to represent easily in a blog. To read this section, please visit this page. Then come back here and continue ...
So now we have a direct example of the conversion of information into energy. This is not a thought experiment because it has been demonstrated in a real experiment.
While there is still some residual scepticism about the equivalence of information and entropy because the two are so different in nature, we have managed to establish with reasonable comfort that information and thermodynamic entropy are fundamentally similar. Next we note that entropy and energy ( or at least heat energy) is very closely related to each other and are linked by the equation dS = dQ/T . Energy can exist in many forms - electrical, kinetic, potential etc -- all of which are interchangeable with each other but one that is of maximum interest is the form of matter. Yes, as we all know matter and energy are two aspects of the same fundamental property to which we can now add information. Hence information and matter are tied to each other. We always knew that matter can give rise to information but now we can claim that information can also give rise to matter. Hence information matters!
Finally, once we agree that matter can emerge from information, then the entire edifice of the simulation hypothesis gets a firm foundation to stand on. There is no need to talk about an endless series of turtles that stand on each other's back. We begin with information, the genotype, that philosophers in India refer to as the Brahman and with this we can recreate the simulated world of illusory Maya.
Maya, Matrix, Shiv, Shakti, Information, Energy, Genotype, Phenotype - the possibilities are endless. And then you have fake news on social media which connects the sublime to the mundane!
That "information is power" is a statement that is often made both figuratively and loosely, but can it be literally true? Is it possible to find links between information and the stuff that they refer to in physics text books? Obviously the information that you read in the newspaper cannot be easily related to the power that causes a light bulb to glow. To simplify both sides of the equivalence, or analogy, and see if we can find a real link between the two, we begin with .... ( read on)
Azad Hall 1979 - 1984
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Previous postUS court sides with gene patents
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Citizen provision found beneficial to US Endangered Species Act
16 Aug 2012 | 22:43 GMT | Posted by Helen Thompson | Category: Biology & Biotechnology, Earth, environment & ecology, Policy
When three environmental groups petitioned the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on 10 August to list a Pacific population of great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) as threatened or endangered they made use of a legal tool that some critics say is as benign as a shark fin slicing through the water.
That tool, a provision for citizen involvement in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), means that any citizen or group can petition the federal government to list a species that is believed to be threatened. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), or the NMFS in the case of marine species, is obligated to consider such petitions, some of which list dozens or hundreds of species, subspecies or populations. When petitions are rejected or languish too long the next step is a lawsuit. As a result, some have called the system little more than a revenue generating tool for environmentalists’ lawyers.
“One of the greatest obstacles to the success of the ESA is the way in which it has become a tool for excessive litigation,” wrote Doc Hastings (R-WA), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, in an op/ed to The Washington Times on 18 May.
That sentiment has now been challenge by a study published today in Science, which suggests citizen petitions are a net benefit. Berry Brosi, an ecologist at Emory University and Eric Biber, an environmental lawyer at the University of California in Berkeley, analyzed FWS data on 913 species petitioned since 1986 based on biological dangers, taxonomic classification, and conflict with economic development. “It’s clear that this citizen provision aspect is a flashpoint for critics, and we were curious if the criticisms had anything to them,” Brosi says.
Citizen-flagged species faced higher threat levels and were more likely to face conflicts with development, compared to those initiated through FWS. Species that were the subjects of lawsuits actually did face greater threats. “In many ways we were surprised that citizen picked species are more biologically threatened. It is interesting in terms of citizens really providing checks and balances,” says Brosi.
According to Gary Frazer, FWS’s assistant director for the Endangered Species Program, the service has long held the same view: “Citizen involvement is valuable and useful. To do endangered species conservation, we need participation from nonprofits and individual citizens,” says Frazer.
The study found that citizen groups initiated slightly more threatened sub-species than FWS’s internal staff. That makes sense, says Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based advocacy group. Greenwald adds the difference reflects “the local scale of species extinction to some degree, and the fact that citizen groups and scientists are in many ways the local eyes and ears.”
Congress considered putting caps on petitions and species listings in 2011. That same year, a settlement between FWS and two of their most frequent petitioners – CBD and WildEarth Guardians – put a slew of lawsuits to bed and set up a six-year workplan to look at the needs of more than 250 species. But, in June, citizen involvement recently drew renewed scrutiny, when members of the House Natural Resources Committee investigated whether litigation helped or hindered endangered species.
Frazer agrees that citizen involvement is an essential part of the ESA, but “mega-petitions” can be problematic. CBD’s 10 July petition to list 53 amphibians and reptiles – the highest tally yet for those groups – dispersed across the country has added a bit more fuel to the simmering fire. “We’re a field-based organization. The people that have expertise in these species are going to be scattered across the whole country. Just the coordination required within that initial review is a substantial effort,” says Frazer.
Limited funding and staff resources are a perennial problem, and Brosi is sympathetic: “There really is limited funding for endangered species, and we can’t really list every plant and animal out there. We need to be very strategic and analytical about which species we protect.”
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Dodgers 6, Pirates 2: #Zanky, Bat Flips, And Corey Seager
Chad Moriyama 09/18/2015 Recaps 719 Comments
The Dodgers prevailed over the Pirates, 6-2, and the victory was thanks to Zack Greinke, Corey Seager, and the bullpen not giving up 10 runs in an inning.
Zack Greinke was the star of the game, pitching seven innings of one-run ball on 97 pitches. He allowed just four hits and two walks, and two of those baserunners came to lead off the eighth inning before he was removed.
But that’s wasn’t why he was the star, no no.
He also went 2-for-2 at the plate and 2-for-2 in bat flips.
Greinke’s so good he made a defender go the wrong way.
The offense more than did their fair share today, with nine hits and four walks.
Justin Ruggiano continued his assault on lefties, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base that led to the first run…
…and he also singled in the second run.
The other star? Some Corey Seager guy. He went 1-for-4, so his batting average plummeted to .412, but he also did this.
Adrian Gonzalez also provided a two-run double as insurance that really seemed to put the game out of reach.
The Dodgers magic number is now nine, the NL West lead over the Giants has been temporarily extended to eight games (Giants trail Diamondbacks 2-0 in ninth), and the race for NLDS home-field advantage has the Dodgers keeping their lead at 1.5 games over the Mets.
Previous Pirates @ Dodgers Sept. 18, 2015: Welcome Back, Howie Kendrick
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Meeting with President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas
Vladimir Putin and President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Bethlehem.
President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas (retranslated): In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Compassionate, I would like to welcome the esteemed Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, my personal friend, and a friend of all Palestinians, who will not miss an opportunity to draw the attention of the international community to the Palestinian issue or to render us comprehensive assistance. We have become very accustomed to this.
Naturally, we attach much importance to the regular exchange of visits at top level – visits to Moscow and your visit to Palestine – to compare notes and exchange views on the issues that are of interest to the Russian Federation and the State of Palestine.
I would like to thank you for your all-round support. I am referring to political, economic and cultural assistance, financial cooperation and aid to Palestine in the area of security.
I would like to thank you for your support and the work that you do in our area, I am referring to the Arab world. We consider this confirmation of the fact that Arab affairs are important to the Russian Federation. Russia is always present in the Arab world and is always working to resolve its problems.
Naturally, we have a number of issues to discuss. I am primarily referring to Israel’s statement on the annexation of Palestinian lands, and the likelihood of an announcement on the second part of “the deal of the century” by Trump. As you know, the Americans have already made public the first part. We must also discuss the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections in the State of Palestine. These are the issues we would like to review.
Mr President, allow us to welcome you to the State of Palestine once again. I hope I will have an opportunity to personally congratulate you on the victory over Nazism in Moscow in May.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, I am very happy to see you.
We meet regularly and are always in contact.
Russian-Palestinian ties have long and deep roots. We maintain relations in the most diverse areas. You have just mentioned them. We are interested in building up our cooperation in the economy and humanitarian areas and, of course, on issues related to an Arab-Israeli settlement. We understand your concerns in this respect.
I am very happy to have this opportunity to hold consultations with you on all of these issues, including, of course, in a broader context, the situation in the region as a whole.
Of course, we are looking forward to seeing you in Moscow in May for the Day of Victory over Nazism.
Abbas Mahmoud
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About 30,000 adults and children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) each year. As many as 1.25 million Americans have the disease, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, with up to 5 million expected to have the disease by 2050. T1D is an autoimmune disease where your body stops producing insulin, which can lead to a lifetime of dependence on injected or pumped insulin as well as a host of health complications. New clinical trials, however, show some promising results in "curing" the disease by implanting pancreatic islet cells to the omentum, the tissue that covers abdominal organs.
This isn't the only plan to cure T1D, of course. The FDA approved the first automated system for T1D last September, while other research teams study the possible effects stem cells and 3D printing techniques. This is the first time omentum-implanted islet cells have produced long-term insulin independence in a patient who has T1D, however. The medical team took donor islets and combined them with the patient's own blood plasma. This mixture was then layered onto the patient's omentum via a laproscopic incision.
Islets are clusters of endocrine cells throughout the pancreas; they secrete insulin and glucagon in people without diabetes. These insulin-producing cells have previously been implanted in the liver, but the technique can cause inflammation. The new "tissue-engineered" implant site of the omentum has no such issue and can be accessed with minimally invasive surgery. It also has a similar blood supply and drainage as the pancreas, which is where insulin is typically produced. The result is then a mini-pancreas that supplies insulin more naturally to the patient with diabetes.
"The results thus far have shown that the omentum appears to be a viable site for islet implantation using this new platform technique," said the lead author of the study, David Baidal. "Data from our study and long-term follow up of additional omental islet transplants will determine the safety and feasibility of this strategy of islet transplantation, but we are quite excited about what we are seeing now."
Key Words : clinical trials, gear, insulin, medicine, omertum, science, T1D,Type1Diabetes
France wants autonomous high-speed trains by 2023
Apple Music trial is no longer free in some countries
Gene editing could lead to a vaccine for arthritis
Smart bandages will use 5G data to track your health
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Home International News China releases image of its flag on the moon as spacecraft carrying...
China releases image of its flag on the moon as spacecraft carrying lunar rocks lifts off (Photos)
A Chinese spacecraft lifted off from the moon Thursday night with a load of lunar rocks, the first stage of its return to Earth, the government space agency reported. Chang’e 5, the third Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon and the first to take off from it again, is the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious missions for Beijing’s space program, which also has a orbiter and rover headed to Mars.
Right before the ascent vehicle lifted off, the lander unfurled what the space administration called the first free-standing Chinese flag on the moon. The agency posted an image — apparently taken from the lander — of the ascend vehicle firing its engines as it took off.
China’s national flag is seen unfurled from the Chang’e-5 spacecraft on the moon, in this handout image provided by China National Space Administration (CNSA) December 4, 2020. CNSA
The spacecraft “unfolded the five-star red national flag, a genuine one made from fabrics, marking a first in the country’s aerospace history,” state media said.
The Chang’e 5 touched down Tuesday on the Sea of Storms on the moon’s near side. Its mission: collect about 4 pounds of lunar rocks and bring them back to Earth, the first return of samples since Soviet spacecraft did so in the 1970s. Earlier, the U.S. Apollo astronauts brought back hundreds of pounds of moon rocks.
This image provided by China National Space Administration shows the ascender of Chang’e-5 spacecraft blasting off from the moon surface on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. / AP
It wasn’t clear when the linkup would occur. After the transfer, the ascent module would be ejected and the capsule would remain in lunar orbit for about a week, awaiting the optimal time to make the trip back to Earth.
Chinese officials have said the capsule with the samples is due to land on Earth around the middle of the month. Touchdown is planned for the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, where China’s astronauts have made their return in Shenzhou spacecraft.
Chang’e 5’s lander, which remained on the moon, was capable of scooping samples from the surface and drilling 2 meters (about 6 feet).
Chang’e 5 has revived talk of China one day sending astronauts to the moon and possibly building a scientific base there, although no timeline has been proposed for such projects.
While China is boosting cooperation with the European Space Agency and others, interactions with NASA are severely limited by U.S. concerns over the secretive nature and close military links of the Chinese program. On Tuesday, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s science director, tweeted a congratulatory message to China after the spacecraft landed on the moon.
Congratulations to China on the successful landing of Chang’e 5. This is no easy task. When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everyone will benefit from being able to study this precious cargo that could advance the international science community. pic.twitter.com/2xoKouf3dq
— Thomas Zurbuchen (@Dr_ThomasZ) December 1, 2020
China is executing an incremental approach to its moon program, launching a series of increasingly complex robotic spacecraft to develop and test the propulsion, guidance, navigation and landing systems needed for long-term exploration.
The Chang’e 1 and 2 missions successfully reached lunar orbit in 2007 and 2010 respectively, followed by the Chang’e 3 lunar lander in 2013 and Chang’e 4, which landed on the far side of the moon in 2019. Chang’e 5 is the first of two planned sample return missions and China’s most ambitious moon mission to date.
Source – News Agencies and CBS News
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Post by MrMacSon » Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:43 pm
Heracleon also said that when Jesus goes down to Capernaum (John 2.12), that means — for such is the meaning of the city’s name — that he is descending into the nether regions of the Cosmos. This meaning is retained in French, in which the word “capharnaüm” refers a place of chaos and debauchery, according to [French lexicographer] Littré; and the earliest reference to this city is in the New Testament. From there, Jesus returns to Jerusalem — in other words, from the physical realm to an intermediate region where the psychics live. There is nothing historical about this symbolic Jerusalem.
(Georges Ory, Analysis of Christian Origins, 19
I wonder why we don't realize it before:
Fragment 11, on John 2:12 (In John 2:12, “After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.”) The words, "After this he went down to Capernaum," indicate the beginning of a new dispensation, for "he went down" is not said idly. Capernaum, means these farthest-out parts of the world, the material realm into which he descended. And since the place was alien to him, he is not reported either to have done anything or said anything in it.
http://gnosis.org/library/fragh.htm
Kunigunde's point about Heracleon's point seems key -
Kunigunde Kreuzerin wrote: ↑
We don't realize it before because it isn't "the meaning of the city’s name".
Heracleon's gnostic point is not the name of the village, but the verb "coming down".
As Kunigunde said, Heracleon appears to be making Capernaum signify the extreme material portions of the cosmos, not because anything in the name suggests that, but rather because that is where Jesus "descended" (so to speak).
Mmm... I would be not so rapid in this so drastic conclusion. You say what is the etymology of Capernaum shortly after:
Capernaum probably comes from Kfar Nahum, which means village of Nahum. However, since all Hebrew names mean something, and since Nahum means comfort(er) or consolation/consoler, Capernaum can also be held to mean village of consolation.
Village of the conforter: this remembers me what Couchoud said about the first epistle of John.
The Epistle shows itself to be earlier than the Gospel, because the Parousia (ii. 28) is still taught, whereas in the Gospel it is no longer expected, and because the Paraclete in the Epistle is Jesus himself, whereas in the Gospel the Paraclete is a sort of double of Jesus, the Spirit which is to be sent and which, in practice, takes the place of the Son of Man whose Coming was formerly hoped for. It is evident, then, that between the writing of the Epistle and that of the Gospel the urgent expectation of the Revelation had lapsed.
(The Creation of Christ, p. 226, my bold)
Capernaum means the place where the Paraclete had to arrive. The ''village of the Paraclete''. This does allude at least partially to the idea expressed by Heracleon. At least more than to idea of what the Gospel Jesus did particularly in Capernaum and only there (the particular exorcism of someone).
What I am saying is that, even so, Capernaum is more expected in the incipit of a Gospel (alluding to the general goal of Jesus: being a Paraclete) than as particular name of a particular place of a particular episode where Jesus did a particular action.
Therefore I repeat what I said before: the presence of Capernaum in the incipit of Mcn alone proves the Marcionite priority.
Mmm... I would be not so rapid in this so drastic conclusion.
And yet, not one bit of your post contests it. You instead attempt to salvage your main point from a different etymology than the one purportedly given in the text, rendering completely moot any suggestion that Heracleon thought that Capernaum meant, in an etymological sense, "extreme parts of the world" or some such.
Your overall point concerning Marcionite priority was never my concern here. You are free to beat that donkey all you wish, and I will not interfere.
I don't understand fully your point above. On the one hand, it seems that you are saying that Heracleon has not in mind an etymology but only what for him derived from the use of the verb descending, while on the other hand you are saying that Heracleon wanted to give an etymology for Capernaum. Is this what are you saying ?
No. Heracleon is not using etymology at all. He is using the descent (which happens to be to Capernaum) to mean or symbolize the descent of the savior. You are the one introducing etymology, and you have done it twice now, with two different etymologies, the second of which cannot even be misconstrued out of the text in the same way you misconstrued the first one.
In other words, Giuseppe, when you use the English translation to manufacture the idea that Heracleon thought Capernaum (etymologically) meant "the furthest reaches of the world" or whatnot, Kunigunde can cite the Greek and point out that this is not a necessary or even a likely meaning for Heracleon's words. But, when you merely posit, as sheer guesswork, that Heracleon was influenced by an actually possible or even probable etymology for Capernaum ("village of consolation"), despite that etymology not being part of the text we are examining (not even as a misreading of the English translation), well, arguing against such mindreading is like trying to shoot a vapor with an arrow, and every bit as unnecessary.
I suspect that you are assuming too much about Heracleon. You seem to think that he was historicist and that only for love of metaphor he imagined the reference to the remote ends of the earth, etc.
Frankly, I don't think so. Heracleon could be a mythicist when he said these words, since he is implying clearly that Jesus didn't go to a physical place named Capernaum, but descended in the sub-lunary realm. He is interpreting what is at least for him only an allegory. Jesus couldn't descend in two different places (a village in Galilee and in the sublunary realm) during the same descending.
My point is that, if Heracleon was historicist, then he had to interpret etymologically Capernaum when he wrote these words. He couldn't do otherwise.
If Heracleon was mythicist, he could say what he said without no reference to any etymology.
Whaaat? I am not sure I even have an opinion yet as to Heracleon's views on that topic. And they certainly played no part in my agreement with Kunigunde, which agreement is simply the inevitable result of a straightforward reading of an ordinary Greek sentence. My claim is no less and no more than that Heracleon, according to how he is cited by Origen, was not using the etymology of Capernaum as part of his interpretation of the passage at hand. Fin.
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Dennis Bergkamp testimonial
Thread: Dennis Bergkamp testimonial
His last match with Arsenal
http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=a...0ad81020b5980d
http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=5...1d6403fe60998b
Bergkamp is a special player for me, I was there when he won the Uefa Cup with Inter in 94, just great memories. Too bad he could never fullfil his potential in Italy.
he was a quality player at inter he didn't have the right manager alongside him.
He said his plan was move to Italian club for 4 years and then go to England, and go back to Holland. But he only made 2 years of Italy, and never got back home...(It was on TV before the game )
Originally Posted by Durai
Excuse my language but that us a load of rubbish crap. I wonder if you have even seen a game of him when playing for us!
I almost watched every single game of his and he truly was mediocre at best. I still have this incredible image of when he missed a sitter and you could see all the fans and we are talking about the red and orange sector on their feet shouting at the guy. Can not have been too pleasant for him standing on the pitch. Dennis like many others just didn’t cut it – personally I think it was the immense pressure of delivering straight away which he didn’t cope with.
yes i saw him play at inter, the problem was we played him as a striker rather than a playmaker forward, people expected him to be a goalscorer but they didn't understand him.
unfortunately dennis wasn't anything at Inter. From what I remember it was also a hard time for Inter back then...it was 93/94 season were you almost got relegated. Let's say the situation wasn't the best for him either.
Italy wasn't really his league, he was/is still a quality player however. He needed a different environment, like that of the EPL. It doesn't say much about a player's quality if he fails somewhere...Laudrup was crap in Serie A too and then became one of the best players of the 90ies.
Anyway..the Arsenal Dennis was one of the better players I have seen. His touch was simply incredible and even more his footballing brain. He was an incredibly intelligent player..
That's not it. He was too young, immature, and he was way too lazy on the pitch, god knows the fans didn't like that. They started calling him Sleeping Beauty ffs.
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UNICEF Canada: Improving donor engagement with a new fundraising product
Peter Baker — May 6, 2016
Since its founding after World War II, the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization. And for 60 years, UNICEF Canada has contributed to the cause by raising money for food, health care, sanitation and educational programs—$35 million this past year alone.
But with 230 million children suffering in countries plagued by armed conflicts, inadequate health services and poor nutrition, UNICEF Canada is always looking for new ways to entice donors. In the past, most of its contributions—about one-third of revenues—came from a monthly donor program promoted through direct mail, email, door-to-door canvassing and community events. Contributors responded to the organization’s broad message to deliver aid where it was needed most.
But last year Deana Shaw, vice president of direct and integrated marketing at UNICEF Canada, wondered if the organization could better connect with donors. A 20-year marketing veteran with experience in both corporate and not-for-profit sectors, she’d already helped raise over $125 million in support of children through UNICEF Canada. But with new technology changing the way Canadians accessed information and responded to charitable causes, Shaw worried that giving patterns were changing. She believed that UNICEF Canada needed to develop a new donation instrument that gave contributors more choice in how their money would be spent.
“You can’t assume that what you’ve done in the past will work in the future,” says Shaw from her office in Toronto. “We needed a product for people who were philanthropic but also wanted to see the impact of their gift. We wondered how close the donor could get to the experience of changing a child’s life.”
To create the new monthly donor product, UNICEF turned to Environics Analytics (EA), the marketing and data analytics company, to learn more about the demographics and social values of current monthly donors. Analysts examined them using PRIZM, the segmentation system that classifies Canadians into 68 different lifestyle types. The research identified eight groups of PRIZM segments—with names like Urbane Villagers (wealthy, middle-aged urban sophisticates), Young Digerati (younger, upscale urban trendsetters) and Grey Pride (lower-middle-class suburban apartment-dwelling seniors)—that accounted for 94% of monthly donations.
EA analysts then profiled the donor groups, detailing where they lived, how they spent their time and money, and what issues were most important to them—all to help guide UNICEF Canada’s marketing and messaging. For instance, one of the segment groups, named Older Affluent Families, expressed a strong connection to their community, which suggested that they’d respond to a message emphasizing the organization’s mission to help children. Meanwhile, another group named Young Upscale Monthly Donors scored high for global social consciousness, indicating an interest in helping people around the world. “The detailed demographic and values data provided UNICEF with insight into who donates to us and how to speak to them,” says Shaw.
UNICEF Canada also organized a half-dozen focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of its donors and how the donation product might be structured. The resulting marketing brief was given to the organization’s creative agency, Idea Studio, which came back with a new monthly donation product called Survival 365. With Survival 365, every time a donor makes a contribution, UNICEF responds with an emailed thank-you message detailing what life-saving products their donation purchased, such as bed nets to combat malaria or water purification tablets to provide children with clean water.
“Depending on which month we are in, the message may say that your donation of $20 provided 2,580 water purification tablets or 45 measles vaccines,” Shaw explains. “This approach helps donors feel connected to what they’re giving. It enables us to convey to someone who is supporting children through UNICEF the impact of their gift every month. That’s the power of the program.”
Last August, UNICEF Canada launched Survival 365 with door-to-door and email test campaigns in the Calgary market. The results were eye-opening. Although the average gift amount was the same as the traditional monthly program, the attrition rate of Survival 365 donors from one month to the next was 30% lower—reflecting the “stickiness” of the new campaign among donors. At the same time, marketers quickly reached their initial goal of attracting 500 new donors across Canada.
“The results are preliminary but have been phenomenal,” says Shaw. “It’s been quite a success and there’s a lot of future potential.” Eventually, UNICEF Canada hopes to make all of their monthly programs digital-only to save money on the marketing costs. “This product is already appealing because more donors are staying on and our return on investment is higher,” she continues. “But we should see cost efficiencies improve over time with this digital-only program because we won’t have to worry about postage and production costs from mailings.”
And the product’s impact will likely be felt beyond Canada. At a recent meeting of UNICEF fundraising leaders in Geneva, other countries expressed interest in Survival 365, including the United States, China, Australia and New Zealand. “There was a lot of excitement,” says Shaw. “There’s definitely global appeal and there are already a lot of eyes on this because we’ve had such a great result in a short period of time.”
Still, Shaw is proud of the fact that Survival 365 was developed in Canada and may become the organization’s flagship monthly product. The mother of three admits that she’s passionate about her UNICEF work and hopes to leave a positive legacy for her children. Although most young people in North America don’t experience the basic life challenges facing those in other parts of the world, she wants to make sure her children remain aware of their plight and know there is always something they can do to help.
“We’re fortunate living in North America,” Shaw says. “But when you work for UNICEF, you’re exposed to the needs that exist around the world. And you learn that such a small amount of money can have such a big impact. If I have a product that will engage Canadians and keep them on that journey for a longer time, that’s what we’re all about.”
Tags:April 2016
Know what your consumers really want, thanks to cognitive commerce
Data intelligence driving key decisions for market trailblazers
Peter Baker is vice president and practice leader at Environics Analytics, overseeing the fundraising, municipal government, university advancement and library sectors.
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Tag: Geoffrey Hinton
Posts Tagged Geoffrey Hinton
‘Godfathers of AI’ Honored with Turing Award, the Nobel Prize of Computing
Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun may not be household names, but their work definitely is. In fact, you’ve interacted with the descendants their research today (or last few minutes).
From the facial recognition system that unlocked your phone to the AI language model that suggested what to write in your last email, the impact of their work is everywhere, earning them the titles of “Godfathers of AI.” Everytime I hear that term this is the image that pops into my mind.
Recently, the trio has received the Turing Award, which is a kind of Nobel Prize for Computer Science.
So, if they ever call you and ask for a favor, you better do it, unless you want to wake up to a decapitated MacBook laying in your bed.
Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun — sometimes called the ‘godfathers of AI’ — have been recognized with the $1 million annual prize for their work developing the AI subfield of deep learning. The techniques the trio developed in the 1990s and 2000s enabled huge breakthroughs in tasks like computer vision and speech recognition. Their work underpins the current proliferation of AI technologies, from self-driving cars to automated medical diagnoses.
Computer Vision Deep Learning
The Godfather of AI is Working on a New Way for Machines to See
Geoffrey Hinton, aka the Godfather of AI, has been instrumental in the AI revolution we are now living in. However, he’s not content just to rest on his laurels and has dream up something new: capsule networks.
Check out this excerpt from an article in the Seattle Times.
With his capsule networks, Hinton aims to finally give machines the same three-dimensional perspective that humans have — allowing them to recognize a coffee cup from any angle after learning what it looks like from only one. This is not something that neural networks can do.
Click here to view original web page at www.seattletimes.com
The ‘Godfather of Deep Learning’ on Why We Need to Ensure AI Doesn’t Just Benefit the Rich
In this interview with Geoffrey Hinton, Martin Ford asks the pioneering AI researcher about the economics of a world dominated by AI and what to do about making sure the future is for everyone.
If you can dramatically increase productivity and make more goodies to go around, that should be a good thing. Whether or not it turns out to be a good thing depends entirely on the social system, and doesn’t depend at all on the technology. People are looking at the technology as if the technological advances are a problem. The problem is in the social systems, and whether we’re going to have a social system that shares fairly, or one that focuses all the improvement on the 1% and treats the rest of the people like dirt. That’s nothing to do with technology.
Click here to view original web page at gizmodo.com
AI Neural Networks
The Rise of AI
In this ground-breaking episode of Bloomberg’s “Hello World,” the story of AI’s rise is told in detail, as journalist Ashlee Vance heads to the unexpected birthplace of the technology, Canada.
Capsule Networks Tutorial
Aurélien Géron has a tutorial on the hot new architecture for neural networks, invented by Geoffrey Hinton, one of the godfathers of deep learning.
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FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY NOW RANKS 5TH BEST AMONG ALL K-12 PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN GEORGIA
Achievements, College Prep, Education, Elementary, FSA, High School, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Middle School, News, School Life
We are delighted to announce that our school’s official ranking has increased to 5th best among all K-12 private schools in Georgia! Thank you for all of your support: we have moved up from our seventh place ranking last year and look forward to continuing to grow even further in the coming years.
In addition to our impressive overall ranking, we are also highly ranked in the following categories:
#4 for Best High School for STEM in Georgia
#4 for Best College Prep Private High Schools in Georgia
#5 for Most Diverse Private High Schools in Georgia
#5 for Best Private High Schools in Georgia
#5 for Best Private K-12 Schools in Georgia
Congratulations and thank you to all students, faculty, parents, and families for making this possible. You are what makes FSA the truly exceptional school and community that it is!
As stated in our vision statement, we confidently continue in the direction to become one of the top schools in the nation, and we are well on our way. History in the making!
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF OUR RANKINGS
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Listen his new single "Dark Night of the Soul"
Songwriting legend Van Morrison has shared plans for his sixth album in four years, titled Three Chords and the Truth. The record is due this October 25 via Universal Music and will be available for digital download, as well as on CD and vinyl.
Today we have the album's first single, "Dark Night of the Soul," which can be heard below.
The album will feature all new original recordings from Morrison, alongside contributions from longtime collaborator Jay Berliner, as well as Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers. Morrison alone produced and wrote all 14 tracks (with the exception of "If We Wait for Mountains," which was co-written by Don Black).
Morrison has been keeping busy in the recording studio over the last few years — since 2015, he has released five other albums including The Prophet Speaks, You're Driving Me Crazy, Versatile, Roll with the Punches and Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue. More recently, he made an appearance on Robbie Robertson's "I Hear You Paint Houses" from his latest album Sinematic.
Three Chords and the Truth:
1. March Winds In February
2. Fame Will Eat The Soul
4. In Search Of Grace
5. Nobody In Charge
6. You Don't Understand
8. Does Love Conquer All?
9. Early Days
10. If We Wait For Mountains
11. Up On Broadway
12. Three Chords And The Truth
13. Bags Under My Eyes
14. Days Gone By
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Sophisticated workplace investigations, with a focus on harassment and discrimination
Resolving workplace conflict including through mediation
HR management advisory services
Employee advisory services
Human rights advice for employers and employees
Training about investigations, accommodation and respect in the workplace
PhilosophyIn a word: Respectful
Treating people respectfully is a principle that is important to Alison. In addition to ensuring that’s how she treats others, it’s a principle that is embedded in her work, including respect training and conducting investigations in a respectful and fair manner.
BA (Hons.), English Literature: Queen’s University, LL.B: University of Windsor, practicing since 1993
Alison is an experienced litigator who has attended hundreds of hearings and mediations, either as a lawyer representing her client or as a Vice-chair with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”).
Alison is an experienced writer. As Vice-chair with the HRTO, Alison issued over 600 written and reported decisions, as well as many unreported written directions, on sensitive human rights issues.
Since joining Bernardi, she has successfully built an investigation practice, for private and public provincially and federally regulated employers, primarily focused on harassment and discrimination, and through her work has travelled to interesting parts of Canada, including northern Alberta, northern Ontario, and Nunavut.
Little did Alison know that working on the construction site of nuclear power station as a summer student would have a significant impact on her future career as a lawyer, and in the field of labour, employment, and human rights law.
She held a bargaining unit student position and when she reached the maximum amount of time permitted to be a unionized summer student, she was transferred into a non-bargaining unit student position in human resources and labour relations. One summer she participated in negotiating 13 collective agreements and observed, first hand, different unions’ picket lines. These gave her insights into workplaces and people, which aptly describe her legal practice.
Alison has been where few others have been: to the top of a nuclear reactor! While working as a summer student on the construction site of a nuclear station, she had the opportunity to tour the station while it was being built. Donning her hardhat, safety glasses, and safety shoes, she climbed up steep metal ladders and walked along the steel mesh cat walks at the top of (non-working) nuclear reactors to gaze down hundreds of meters to what would later become fuel bays. She stood close enough to the reactors to touch them!
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Jeremy J. Baumberg, University of Cambridge, UK
Watching dynamics of single bonds
Prof. Jeremy J. Baumberg FRS, directs a UK Nano-Photonics Centre at the University of Cambridge and has extensive experience in developing optical materials structured on the nano-scale that can be assembled in large volume. He is also Director of the Cambridge Nano Doctoral Training Centre, a key UK site for training PhD students in interdisciplinary Nano research. Strong experience with Hitachi, IBM, his own spin-offs Mesophotonics and Base4, as well as strong industrial engagement give him a unique position to combine academic insight with industry application in a two-way flow. With over 30000 citations, he is a leading innovator in Nano. This has led to awards of the IoP Faraday gold Medal (2017), Royal Society Rumford Medal (2014), IoP Young Medal (2013), Royal Society Mullard Prize (2005), the IoP Charles Vernon Boys Medal (2000) and the IoP Mott Lectureship (2005). He frequently talks on NanoScience to the media, and is a strategic advisor on NanoTechnology to the UK Research Councils. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Optical Society of America, and the Institute of Physics. His recent popular science book “The Secret Life of Science: How Science Really Works and Why it Matters” is just published by PUP, see np.phy.cam.ac.uk.
Ji-Xin Cheng, Boston University, USA
Super-resolution Infrared Photothermal Imaging
Ji-Xin Cheng is currently the Inaugural Theodore Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics at Boston University. Cheng and his team have been constantly at the most forefront of chemical imaging in innovation, discovery, commercialization and clinical translation. For his contributions to the field of vibrational spectroscopic imaging, Cheng received the 2020 Pittsburg Spectroscopy Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburg, the 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award from OSA, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the Coblentz Society, and the 2015 Craver Award from the Coblentz Society. Cheng is authored in over 250 peer-reviewed articles with an h-index of 76 (Google Scholar). His research has been supported by over 25 million ($) fund from federal agencies including NIH, NSF, DoD, DoE and private foundations including the Keck Foundation. Cheng is a Fellow of Optical Society of America, a Fellow of American Institute of Medicine and Biological Engineering, and Associate Editor of Science Advances.
Kathleen M. Gough, University of Manitoba, Canada
Spectroscopic investigations of order and disorder in collagen
Dr. Kathleen M. Gough is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Adjunct in the Department of Environment and Geography, and Core Member of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, all at the University of Manitoba. She is the first Canadian to have performed and published NFIR imaging and spectroscopy on biological samples and continues to use Far-Field FTIR, Photothermal O-PTIR, Near-Field IR and Raman microscopes. Her research interests range from biological (cells and nuclei, brain and heart tissue, fungi, Arctic sea ice diatoms) to novel materials (synthetic spider silk, self-disinfecting materials). In 2017, she was elected a Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. She is a founding member of the International Society for Clinical Spectroscopy (2016) and was co-organizer of their SPEC 2016 conference. She has served on the International Advisory Board for the SPEC meetings since 2010. She is a member of Editorial Board for Clinical Spectroscopy, and of the Editorial Advisory Board for Applied Spectroscopy.
Janina Kneipp, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Challenges in the application of one and two-photon excited SERS to bioorganic samples
Janina Kneipp works in the field of optical nanospectroscopy. Her research combines concepts of vibrational microspectroscopy, nanotechnology, and plasmonics for applications in analytical and biophysical chemistry and molecular spectroscopy. Her scientific interests include the exploration of multiphoton-excited Raman scattering and its combination with other non-linear effects. After her dissertation work at Robert Koch Institute Berlin with a doctoral degree from Freie Universität Berlin in 2002 and postdoctoral appointments in Rotterdam, Princeton and Berlin, she joined the faculty at Humboldt Universität (HU) zu Berlin in 2008 as assistant professor of Analytical Chemistry, being promoted to a full professorship in Physical Chemistry (W3) in 2012. She received a Starting Grant of the European Research Council, has been an Ostwald Fellow of the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing since 2012, and was awarded the Caroline von Humboldt Professorship for 2019 at HU.
Jian-Feng Li, Xiamen University, China
In situ Raman Probing of Interfacial Structures and Reaction Intermediates using Core-Shell Nanoparticles
Jian-Feng Li is a full Professor of Chemistry at Xiamen University. He received his BSc degree in Chemistry from Zhejiang University in 2003 and his PhD degree in Chemistry from Xiamen University in 2010. He worked as a post-doctor at University of Bern and ETH Zurich in Switzerland during 2011~2014. Professor Li’s research interests include core-shell nanostructures, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, electrochemistry, surface (photo)catalysis and rapid detection using portable Raman instruments. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers with total citation over 8000, including Nature, Science, Nature Energy, Nature Mater., Nature Protoc., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Chem. Rev., etc. He is a Senior Editor in The Journal of Physical Chemistry, and sits on the Editorial Boards for Analytical Chemistry, Advanced Optical Materials and ChemElectroChem.
Eric Potma, University of California, USA
Nonlinear mid-infrared imaging of biological samples
Eric Potma was born and raised in the Netherlands, obtaining his Masters at the University of Groningen in 1996. During the next five years he completed his graduate research working in the ultrafast spectroscopy group of Prof. Douwe Wiersma, focusing on the development of laser sources for microscopy and the application of nonlinear methods to optical imaging. In 2001, Potma joined the group of Prof. Sunney Xie at Harvard University as a postdoctoral fellow. During this time, he has been involved in projects on synchronizing mode-locked lasers, visualizing lipid bilayers with CARS microscopy and vibrational imaging of tissues in vivo at video rate. In 2005, Eric joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of California in Irvine, where he currently is a Professor of Chemistry. His group focuses on the characterization of nano-structured materials and biological tissues with the aid of new optical imaging techniques.
Sylvie Roke, École Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Switzerland
Nonlinear light scattering and imaging of realistic 3D interfaces
Sylvie Roke is a full professor at EPFL. She obtained master degrees in chemistry (2000) and physics (2000) from Utrecht University (NL) with highest honors, and then obtained a PhD degree (2004, highest honors) from Leiden University with AW Kleyn and M Bonn. She was Max-Planck free floating Group Leader at the MPI for Metals Research in Stuttgart (2006-2012), and became director of the Laboratory for fundamental BioPhotonics at EPFL in 2011, where she holds the Julia Jacobi chair in photomedicine. Her work focuses on developing new optical tools and theories for gaining molecular level insight into aqueous systems and interfaces. She applies them to understand water, aqueous solutions, 3D-realistic interfaces and biological systems. She was awarded the LJ Oosterhoff prize (2003), the Minerva prize (2006), the Hertha-Sponer prize (2008), as well as ERC Startup (2009), Consolidator (2014) and Proof of Concept (2020) grants.
Harumi Sato, Kobe University, Japan
Study on intermolecular interaction of polymers using vibrational spectroscopy
Harumi Sato obtained her PhD from Gunma University, Japan in 1996. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University during 1999-2012. In 2012, she joined Kobe University as an associate professor of the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment of Kobe University. Since 2018 she has been a full professor at Kobe University. Her research interests are in understanding the polymer structure, physical properties and intermolecular interactions by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and terahertz spectroscopy (THz). Her current work focuses on spectroscopic studies of weak hydrogen bonds of biodegradable polymers. She has received several awards for her contributions in polymer chemistry and polymer spectroscopy including Award for Encouragement of Research in Polymer Science from the Society of Polymer Science of Japan (2003) and Masao HORIBA Award (2005).
Bayden R. Wood, Monash University, Australia
A spectroscopic investigation into severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Professor Bayden R. Wood is an Academic and Director of the Centre for Biospectrocopy, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. His research is focused on translating vibrational spectroscopic techniques to solve a range of biomedical problems particularly associated with disease diagnosis. He has set up a world leading laboratory at Monash University specialized in translating spectroscopy to find diagnostic solutions for the most devastating diseases on the planet including COVID-19, malaria, HIV, HBV, HCV and sepsis. He was the recipient of the 2014 Doreen Clarke medal for Applied Chemistry (Royal Australian Chemical Institute) and is an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He sits on the board for The International Society for Clinical Spectroscopy and is co-editor for the new Elsevier journal Clinical Spectroscopy. He also sits on the editorial board for the SAGE journal Applied Spectroscopy.
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