Split (1)

train · 672k rows

pred_label stringclasses 2 values	pred_label_prob float64 0.5 1	wiki_prob float64 0.25 1	text stringlengths 59 1.02M	source stringlengths 37 43
__label__wiki	0.969683	0.969683	Brighton disability service faces the axe as funding withdrawn Geraldine Des Moulins, Possability Peoples chief executive Bex Bastable Disabled people are 'bearing the brunt' of funding cuts as a 'vital' service is set to be axed, the boss of a Brighton charity has said. Staff at Possability People have been left 'reeling' after the news that its advice centre is being cut after receiving a letter from Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Brighton and Hove City Council. But a spokesperson for NHS Brighton and Hove CCG, said: “Across the NHS there are more and more people who need to use health services and the funding available to pay for them cannot keep up with this increase in demand. This means we have to focus NHS funding on supporting services which have been proven to have the most impact on people’s health and that are not already provided in the community." The Possability People Advice Centre, which has been running for 30 years, helps disabled people with equipment grants, Blue Badges to bus passes, housing, help with care, food bank referrals, welfare benefits and allowances. In 2018, the centre dealt with 2,200 people face-to-face, and handled 4,468 enquiries, the charity said. But now it is set to close after an 85 per cent cut in funding. Geraldine Des Moulins, Possability People’s chief executive, said: “Yet again, disabled people – often the most vulnerable people in our society, are bearing the brunt of funding decisions made without any real understanding of the impact they will have. "We are keenly aware of the financial pressures health and social care services are under but we can’t see how this will be a real saving as the first thing most people do in a crisis with no-where else to turn is go to their GP.” The service is run by three part time staff and a bank of volunteers - many who are living with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Ms Des Moulins said: “The Advice Centre is often the last port of call for people who find themselves in desperate situations – to have this life line taken away seems particularly cruel. We will be doing all we can to fund the centre in the longer term, and our volunteers will help as much as they can by answering phone calls, but in the short term, the outlook for desperate disabled people is very grim.” Defending the move, a spokesperson for NHS Brighton and Hove CCG, said: “Over 80 per cent of contacts for this service are related to benefits help and Brighton and Hove has a wide range of other community and voluntary sector services that support people with these needs. "There are also a number of both local and national services that offer benefits advice and help in accessible ways. "With this in mind, we took the difficult decision to reinvest the money that would have been spent for this service into other services that will bring direct benefits to more people’s health needs. This was not a decision we took lightly but we feel it is necessary to ensure we are able to continue to use public money in the most effective way and do not spend more money than we have available. HRH The Princess Royal opens new MRI Suite “We recognise the valuable support provided by the Disability Advice Centre to disabled people in the city, particularly in relation to accessing benefits. Going forward, we will continue to work with our local authority colleagues and the voluntary and community sector to maximise the support provided to our diverse local population and to ensure that our investment of NHS funding supports and complements, rather than duplicates, other statutory and voluntary sector services.” Two of the city's MPs backed calls for the decision to be reversed. Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavillion, said: “Possability People’s advice centre is a vital service that has supported many of my constituents to successfully challenge incorrect disability benefit decisions, and helped them to get the support they need. "For NHS commissioners to pretend that there isn’t a link between health and wellbeing, and accessing timely disability benefits advice when people are in crisis and struggling to cope, is hugely short-sighted and counterproductive, as I have made clear to the CCG. “I struggle to believe that other advice agencies in the city have the capacity fill the gap left by the closure of Possability People’s advice service. And with Possability People specialising in disability advice, I fear that many vulnerable residents in the city will be left unsupported when they desperately need assistance.” Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown, called for the decision to be reversed and said: “I am shocked by the CCG’s handling of this matter, giving only a few weeks notice on a decision which will affect hundreds of my constituents.” To find out more about Possability People and to make a donation, visit: {https://www.possabilitypeople.org.uk/donate/\|www.possabilitypeople.org.uk/donate/	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1116
__label__wiki	0.841435	0.841435	Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross Between the Hermitage and the Hospital of St. Mary, Rounceval Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1935. CHAPTER 37: BETWEEN THE HERMITAGE AND THE HOSPITAL OF ST. MARY, ROUNCEVAL (SITES OF NOS. 1 TO 15, WHITEHALL) The frontage between the hermitage and the Hospital of St. Mary, Rounceval, seems to have been first built upon about the year 1400. A document of Westminster Abbey (fn. n1) giving the rents received by the Chapel of St. Mary in 1392–4 mentions the receipt of 12d. in respect of a certain vacant place lying between "Rouncevale" and the hermitage. In the account for 1405–6 (fn. n2) is an item concerning ten shops at "Charryng" belonging to the sacristan, which appear in the account for 1411–2 (fn. n3) as ten shops near "Rouncyvall" demised to the sacristan, and in a statement of receipts for the years following 1413 (fn. n4) the ten shops are specified as "inter Rouncyvall et heremitagium." On 31st August, 1487, the Abbot of Westminster leased (fn. n5) to John "Hareys" nine tenements situated together near "Charyngcrosse" with gardens adjoining, abutting on "le Rouncevall" on the north, on the garden of "le Rouncevall" on the east, on the ground called "Scotlond" on the south, and on the royal way leading from "Rouncevall" to Westminster on the west. No dimensions are given, but these are supplied in a lease of the same property to John Henbury on 19th December, 1519, (fn. n6) in which the premises are said to contain in length along the street to the chapel or hermitage of St. Katherine 167 feet 3 inches, and in width from the street eastward next the chapel 143 feet, extended westward "triangulariter" near the estate ("fundum") of St. Mary of "Rouncevall" and next the estate opposite called "le Scotlond," 203 feet. The length of 167 feet from the centre of the entrance into Craig's Court, representing the original northern boundary of Hornebolte's house, on the hermitage property (see p. 226), takes us to the northern boundary of No. 1, Whitehall, which from other considerations can be shown to be the southern limit of the Rounceval property on the street frontage. On 18th May, 1531, Henry VIII, who had acquired the freehold from Westminster Abbey, purchased (fn. n7) Henbury's interest, and at once proceeded to pull down and rebuild the houses. (fn. n8) Site of the former No. 20, Charing Cross. On 14th March, 1547–8, Edward VI granted (fn. n9) to William Delahey a 21 years' lease of a messuage then in the latter's tenure. The Ministers' Accounts show that the premises had formerly been on lease to John Wylton and John Ibleton. Subsequently Robert Gardiner, "sergant of her mats seller," obtained a reversionary grant for 21 years. (fn. n10) No record of a grant in perpetuity has been found, but his grandson Richard was distinctly under the impression that Robert was "lawefullye seised in his Demeane as of fee" in the messuage, when on 26th May, 1565, he granted a 25 years' lease of it to Thomas Putterell, then in occupation. The property was described as "ioyninge on a Tenement then in the Tenure of one Peter Nicholson on the south parte, and the Tenement … of William Horsley on the north parte, and adioyninge upon a Tenement … of John Rede on the east parte, and the street Leadinge betwene Charinge Crosse and Westm' palac on the west parte." The property descended to Robert Gardiner's son, Richard, on whose death in 1594 it came to the latter's son, Richard. In 1609–10 Sir John Parker, who had a lease of the adjoining house, formerly of Horsley, "not beinge Contented wth soe much as was in the tenure of the sayd William Horsley," had encroached on what Gardiner considered his freehold, and, moreover, put forward a claim on behalf of the King to the whole of Gardiner's premises. The result was the suit (fn. n11) in which Gardiner, David Hughes and Edmond Newsham, (fn. n12) the two latter being Gardiner's tenants, were the defendants, and which has given us the valuable plan of this and the adjoining property in 1610 (Plate 110). A few words on this plan are called for. The signature at the bottom is illegible save for the word "Robt.," but from the depositions in the suit it appears that the author was Robert Tresswell. It shows the whole of the premises between "Scotland" and Rounceval. The two centre houses marked "Sir John Parker "and "Mr Gardyner," and shown in ground plan, are described with some exactness, but the plan was probably not intended to show the rest of the houses with meticulous accuracy, and while giving a true general impression cannot be relied upon in details. None of the measurements (except of the two centre houses) agrees with the facts save that of 143 feet from the street to the north-east corner of "The Armitage." The latter is represented with an eastern boundary roughly parallel to the line of the street, but this is very wide of the mark, for its south-east corner was really about 220 feet from the street, and the appearance of the plot is therefore misleading. Moreover, the wall of "Scotland" was not straight as shown on the plan. The plan reproduced on p. 218 shows that the eastern half of the Scotland Yard boundary had two noticeable "kinks," and there was an even more prominent one (see p. 224) near the western end. It is probable, however, that the number of houses shown is accurate. Apparently Parker's contention that Gardiner had no right to the house was upheld, for on 21st March, 1610–11, the King granted it in perpetuity at a rent of 20s. a year to Robert Elliot and William Awdeley. The latter, on 14th June, 1611, transferred their interest to Sir John Parker, who surrendered the property, (fn. n13) and on 17th March, 1611–12, received from the King a fresh grant in perpetuity at the same rent. (fn. n14) There is some evidence that the house was shortly afterwards rebuilt. (fn. n15) Parker's property descended to his nephew, Sir Thomas Parker, who in his will, dated 28th March, 1653, left (fn. n16) it to George, his eldest son. In 1663–4 George Parker sold the premises to James "Crag." (fn. n17) In his will dated 11th November, 1669, (fn. n18) James "Cragg," of Westminster, cook, mentions three messuages "neere Charinge Crosse." The one, "knowne by the name of the Talbott, wherein I formerly lived," he left to his wife for life and afterwards to his son Joseph. The other two, "the one in the occupation of Mr Alexander Cully and the other called the Cheshire house," he left to Joseph. The latter are to be equated with the two portions of the adjoining house to the north, formerly occupied by Sir John Parker, and The Talbot must therefore be the house now in question. The frontage is shown on the plan of 1610 as 21 feet, but that of the later No. 20, Charing Cross, to which the house corresponded, was only about 15 feet. The evidence of the ratebooks suggests that the house was rebuilt at the time of the formation of Craig's Court, and it thus appears that about 6 feet of the frontage was utilised for the entrance into the court. One of the earliest occupiers of the newly built house was George Dewell, (fn. n19) who is shown there from 1707 to 1722. His widow continued at the house until 1731, when she was succeeded by Paul Fourdrinier, whose family occupied the premises until 1810. The site is now covered by the building of the National Bank (No. 15, Whitehall). Site of the former No. 19, Charing Cross. On 14th March, 1547–8, the King granted (fn. n20) to William Horsley a 21 years' lease of a messuage then in the latter's tenure. The Ministers' Accounts show that the original lessee had been John Payne. Horsley, on 5th December, 1562, received a new lease for 21 years, and on 17th June, 1573, a reversionary lease, also for 21 years, from Michaelmas, 1583, was granted to Katherine Hampton, who parted with her interest to John Ruff, who had married Horsley's widow, Frances. Ruff died, and his widow married Thomas Walker, who in 1590 applied for a fresh lease. The report on the application states that the "now Tennante hath well repayred of late the said houses otherwise than common Fermors do use to doe, And I finde the now Tennante ready to pull downe the backe parte of the building of the sayd house, for that the same building ys a very weake buildinge, And he will newe builde the same agayne at his owne Costes." (fn. n21) A lease for 33 years was granted to Frances, now for the third time a widow, on 26th April, 1591, and on 25th September, 1601, she obtained a fresh lease for 50 years, on condition that she would spend £60 in repair and rebuilding within the space of four years. (fn. n22) On the following day Frances conveyed (fn. n23) to her son-in-law, Thomas Hibbots, and Anne, his wife, all her "leases, Takings, goods & Chattles whatsoever." The reasons she gave for this step were that Hibbots had "disbursed for me the some of One hundred Markes … about the Repayringe of the house wherein I nowe dwell and in procuring a lease thereof for me and in my name … and did also heretofore redeeme my ould lease of the same house Wch was mortgaged by my late husband, Thomas Walker, and forfeyted to Mary James of London, widdowe, and also hath lente unto me diverse Somes of monye and bynn at Chardges Wth me during the Tyme of my long sicknes, And hath undertaken to pay unto Michaell Harrison, yoman, such mony as I doe owe him." Moreover the transfer was to be in satisfaction "of all such legacies as I am to paye unto the said Thomas in right of his wife, Wch are severallye due unto her by the late wills and Testamts of William Horseley and John Ruffe deceased, my former husbands." On 21st June, 1608, Hibbots sold (fn. n24) the lease to Sir John Parker, who, on 6th June, 1609, obtained (fn. n25) a fresh lease for 60 years. He is shown in the ratebooks as succeeding Hibbots in 1609, and his name continues until 1617. On 5th February, 1629–30, Thomas Cary obtained a grant (fn. n26) of this, among other property, for a term of 41 years after the expiry of Parker's lease. Sir John Parker In 1651 the premises comprised two buildings, which in May of that year were described as follows: (fn. n27) "The Marmayde Taverne. (fn. n28) —All that Taverne or Tenemt Comonly called … the Mermayd Taverne lying … nere Charing Crosse … Consisting of an entrie at the Comeing in of the said Taverne of 58 feete in length from the Street backewards and three feete in breadth, consisting of one Taverne Roome and one Kitchen wth a Sellar under neath ye same, and above staires in the first Storie two Roomes, and in the second storie two Roomes, and over the same Two Garretts, the ground whereon the said House stands wth a small Court yard Contayning forty eight feete in length, and in breadth thirteene feete & ½, standing betweene the House of Sr Thomas Parker South, and the House in the occupacion of Alice Gifford north, and abutting on the ground of Sir Roger Palmer on the East, and a House now the signe of the Crowne on the West, now in the occupacion of one Mr George Oldfeild, and is worth per Annum xx li. "The Crowne—All that Tenement built wth Timber and Flemish wall and Covered with Tile, commonly called … the Crowne scittuate … as aforesaid, and adioyning to the aforesaid Tenemt, consisting of one faire shopp, and a Kitchen behind the same Paved wth Purbeck stone, well fitted and ioynted, and one Celler underneath the same, and above staires one faire Dyning Roome next to the Street, and one Chamber, and a Clossett behind the same, and in ye second storie two Chambers and two Clossetts, and over the same a Garrett, divided into three Chambers. Also one small sincke or Back-Court wth a Shedd there about tenn feete square, now in the occupacion of Mr Malue, (fn. n29) and is worth per Annum xl li." In 1678 the premises were included (fn. n30) in the Manor of Westminster granted to Sheldon and Charlton, who on 26th February, 1678–9, leased (fn. n31) them to Thomas Slaughter, in trust for Joseph "Cragg." (fn. n32) They are described as "a messuage" formerly in the occupation of Horsley, and leased to Parker and Cary. Whether the use of "messuage" in the singular had anything to do with it or not, it is a fact that when in 1752 Philip Craig applied for a fresh lease, only one of the two houses was treated as coming under the lease, the house in the rear passing as Craig's freehold. Craig stated in his application (fn. n33) that the front house "having been built near 80 years" (fn. n34) had become old and ruinous, and would require rebuilding in a few years. At that time the widening of the street in front of the premises was in contemplation (see appendix), but no decision had been reached as to which side was to be set back. In view of the possibility, therefore, that Craig's house might be wanted, consideration of his petition was deferred until 1758, when on 30th November he obtained a new lease for 50 years. In 1799 General Francis Craig applied for a further lease. The house was then said to be in the occupation of John Stevenson, hairdresser, and was described as brick built, containing kitchen offices in the basement storey, with three square storeys above and garrets, and to need an expenditure of £200 on substantial repairs. General Craig obtained on 9th June, 1800, a reversionary lease for 51 years and 126 days. In 1829 the freehold of the house, with others, was transferred to the Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Site of the former Nos. 16–18, Charing Cross.—In the Ministers' Accounts for 1534–5 (fn. n35) we meet with two tenements, leased to Peter Cutler and John Simpson, the history of which for over a century ran separately. (i) On 6th October, 1546, a grant for life was made (fn. n36) to John Whatton, mole-catcher to the King, (fn. n37) of Cutler's tenement, and on 17th June, 1573, a reversionary lease for 21 years was granted to Katherine Hampton, (fn. n38) who on the following day sold (fn. n39) her interest to Whatton. The latter died on 27th May, 1579, and in 1588 John Gardiner, who had acquired the reversionary lease, surrendered it and applied for a fresh one. The tenement was said to be in great ruin and decay. Gardiner, on 22nd June, 1588, obtained a new lease for 31 years. (fn. n40) On 8th December, 1631, the tenement was granted (fn. n41) in perpetual fee farm to William Collins and Edward Fenn, who, on 12th June, 1632, together with Sir William Russell, sold (fn. n42) property at Charing Cross to Humphrey Chambers and Arnold Spencer, and the two latter on 2nd June, 1638, parted with it to Valentine Saunders, junior, under the title of all that tenement situated in a certain street near Charing Cross late in the tenure of Peter Cutler. (fn. n43) (ii) Meanwhile on 14th March, 1547–8, a 21 years' lease had been granted (fn. n44) to Nicholas Urshaw ("Ursheus") of what was certainly Simpson's tenement. (fn. n45) On 13th January, 1560–1, he obtained a new lease for the same period, (fn. n46) and on 24th October, 1573, a reversionary lease, also for 21 years. Urshaw died in April, 1575, (fn. n47) and his widow conveyed her interest to Thomas Smith and Rebecca his wife. (fn. n48) Smith, who was one of the grooms of the Queen's scullery, surrendered the lease, and on 9th January, 1589–90, obtained a fresh lease for 30 years. On his death Rebecca married Ralph Harwood, who, with Silvester Harwood, on 24th February, 1604–5, conveyed the lease to Anthony Hill. (fn. n49) In the following year (2nd August, 1606) Hill obtained a fresh lease for 60 years. On 14th September, 1631, the premises were granted in perpetual fee farm to Sir Henry Browne and John Cliffe, junior, (fn. n50) who on 7th September, 1640, assigned (fn. n51) to Sir James Harrington "all that Messuage … sometymes in the tenure … of Thomas Smyth and nowe or late … of Anthony Hill." (fn. n52) We now reach the period when for a time the two properties seem to have been combined. In an assignment (fn. n53) dated 22nd February, 1648–9, by Valentine Saunders and others to Sir William Brownlowe of a number of messuages and tenements, all but three of which are identifiable as representing the sites of Nos. 11–15, Charing Cross, are included: "One other Tenemt then or late in the tenure of Henry Hodgould, … And one other Tenemt in the tenure of the sayd Henry Hodgould Wherein hee then lived … And one other Tenemt then or late in the tenure of John Smythes." Whether or no "John Smythes" is a mistake for "Thomas Smithes," it is certain that "Henry Hodgould" is a misreading of "Henry Lidgold." Lidgold's two houses are shown by the ratebooks to have been situated respectively in the north and south portions of the combined property, and it therefore appears that Valentine Saunders had obtained possession of the Urshaw tenement as well as Cutler's. Whatever their interim history may have been, both the properties were on 25th September, 1658, in the ownership of Thomas Browne and Lettice his wife. On that date they sold to Francis Seagood two messuages, one "now or late in the tenure … of Thomas Smithes" (i.e. the Urshaw tenement), and the other "now or late in the tenure … of Henry Lidgold, All which premisses or some part thereof was … heretofore in the occupacion of one Peter Cutler." (fn. n54) The property seems now to have been split up again, and we hear nothing more of the southern portion of it until 1717 (see below). On 3rd June, 1706, Seagood's grandson, George, sold the northern portion to Charles Wright. (fn. n55) It is described as consisting of the messuage "now in the tenure … of Richard Crofts, (fn. n56) commonly called … the Rumer Taverne, (fn. n57) containing in breadth in the front next Charing Crosse nineteen feet … abutting South in the front part … on a messuage … now or late in the tenure … of William Rogers, a poulterer, and North in the front part … on a messuage … now or late in the tenure … of John Diton a haberdasher of hatts, the said messuage … in the back part … abutting North on a Certaine Messuage … now the Fountaine Taverne, now or late in the tenure … of James Erwin … and South on a messuage … now or late in the tenure … of John Crips, Victualler." On 2nd June, 1719, Wright sold (fn. n58) The Rummer to John Robinson and Richard Arnold, and on 28th February, 1733–4, Ann Robinson (John's widow) transferred (fn. n59) it to William Robinson. It was then described as "all that Messuage … now in the tenure … of Richard Haddock, comonly called … the Turks Head (fn. n60) and was lately the Rummer Tavern, (fn. n61) and the Room and Shop lying under the Chamber, part of the said Messuage." In 1767 William Robinson's widow and daughter sold (fn. n62) to Lancelot Reed and John Holliday the messuage formerly of Richard Haddock, afterwards of Elizabeth Haddock, "and now or late in the Tenure … of Sophia Lenoy (fn. n63) … formerly called … the Turk's Head, but now used as … a Bagnio." It was known as The Royal Bagnio in 1789. (fn. n64) At the beginning of the nineteenth century the premises were occupied by Francis Place, tailor and radical reformer. (fn. n65) In 1801 Place removed from No. 29, Charing Cross, to "a much larger and more conspicuous shop … at No. 16, Charing Cross," (fn. n66) where he remained until 1817, when he handed over the business to his eldest son. The premises apparently included No. 17 at the rear. No record of the sale by Seagood of the southern portion has been found, but in 1717 it was in the possession of Thomas Tatlock. A deed of 18th July in that year (fn. n67) relates to two freehold messuages, one behind the other, in the tenure of Thomas Lawson, hosier, and Francis Cripps, (fn. n68) victualler, and a later deed of 1737, (fn. n69) relating to the same two, describes them as "one of them now known by the Sign by the Roebuck, and now or late in the tenure … of William Kelly, and the other known by the Sign of the Golden Key and late in the tenure … of Thomas Jackson." The property, which in frontage corresponded with the later No. 18, Charing Cross, has not been further traced. A part of it in the latter portion of the seventeenth century had been in the occupation of Charles Blount or Blunt, a well-known bookseller, the sign of whose house was the Catherine Wheel. (fn. n70) The site of the whole of the premises, as well as that of the two adjoining on the south, comprising altogether Nos. 16 to 20, Charing Cross, is now covered by the building of the National Bank, No. 15, Whitehall. Site of the former Nos. 11–15, Charing Cross.—In the Ministers' Accounts for 1534–5 (fn. n71) are three items relating to tenements leased to Nicholas "Orsewe," Richard Bryce and William "Colle alias Pynner." On 11th February, 1540–1, Henry VIII granted (fn. n72) to Sebastian "le Sene," the King's clockmaker, a tenement lately built by the King, in which Sebastian was then living, together with a court or vacant place with garden adjoining the tenement, bounded on the north by the house of Peter "le Deulx," on the east by the garden of John Rede, on the south by the tenement inhabited by Richard Germanus (apparently Bryce), jeweller, and on the west by the main road from Westminster to "Charyng Crosse." Later Ministers' Accounts show that the tenement in question, which was the northernmost of the three, was that previously leased to "Orsewe." (fn. n73) They also show that the tenement was afterwards granted to Duddy Bonner. (fn. n74) On 21st April, 1573, a reversionary lease was made to David de "Lay" for 21 years from Lady Day, 1584, of the tenement late in the tenure of Duddy Bonner. (fn. n75) The two other tenements were on 14th March, 1547–8, leased (fn. n76) for 21 years to Richard Atsell, to whom at the request of Don Diego de Cordi a reversionary lease of 30 years was granted (fn. n77) by Philip and Mary on 14th July, 1557. Atsell died in 1565, leaving to John Read the lease of his house after the death of his wife. (fn. n78) On 21st April, 1573, David de Ley obtained a lease for 21 years from Michaelmas 1599. The leases of all three tenements were therefore in the hands of David de Ley, goldsmith, when on 15th February, 1606–7, new reversionary leases for 40 years were granted (fn. n79) to Thomas Mery, chief clerk of the King's kitchen. On 5th February, 1629–30, Thomas Cary, one of the grooms of the bedchamber, received a grant (fn. n80) of a reversionary lease for 41 years (from 1660) of the two Atsell tenements, and on 10th April, 1639, his widow, Margaret, obtained a further lease for 41 years. (fn. n81) On 22nd February, 1648–9, all the premises (the site of Sebastian's tenement as well as of the two of Atsell), specified as in the tenure of Miles Knight, gunsmith, Thomas Barnes, John Bevin, Thomas Darling and John East, were assigned (fn. n82) by Valentine Saunders, Henry Barker and Anthony Collins to Sir William Brownlowe for "all the residue and remainder of yeares wch they … have therunto." Presumably Valentine Saunders had acquired the leases. In 1678 the whole was included in the Manor of Westminster granted at the nomination of John Hall to Joseph Sheldon and Nicholas Charlton, as "all that tenement nere Charinge Crosse, sometime in the tenure of David de Ley … and all those two tenements, sometimes in the tenure of Richard Atsell … and now held by — Browne, Cittizen of London, for divers yeares yet to come." On 23rd March, 1682–3, John Hall and Matthew Johnson conveyed (fn. n83) the premises to Humphrey (afterwards Sir Humphrey) Edwin. They are described in detail, and comprised: (i) The Three Tuns tavern, in the occupation of William Packe, (fn. n84) 46 feet east to west and 37 feet north to south, (ii) The Three Feathers, adjoining (i) and containing 66 feet east to west, 10 feet in front and 17 feet in the rear, in the tenure of Joseph Hopkins, (iii) A messuage next to (ii), 50 feet east to west and 11½ feet in front in the occupation of … Benson, (iv) A messuage next to (iii) 58 feet east to west, 11½ feet in front and 7 feet in the rear, formerly in the occupation of Miles Knight and then of … Hawgood, (v) A messuage on the south side of (i) 37 feet from east to west and 10 feet north to south, then occupied by … Davison, and (vi) The Golden Sword next to (v), 25 feet east to west and 10 feet north to south, then in the occupation of Henry Davison or Jonas "Grasses", (fn. n85) haberdasher. The property was subsequently divided between John Edwin and Humphrey Edwin, the former obtaining the sites of Nos. 11 and 14, Charing Cross, and the latter the sites of Nos. 12, 13 and 15. On 4th December, 1738, Humphrey Edwin obtained a reversionary lease of the latter property for 30 years from 1756. It then comprised four houses, one (the later No. 15) in the occupation of John Lutwiche (abutting south on the house of Richard Haddock, and corresponding to The Golden Sword mentioned above); two in the occupation of Robert Sidey and James Puech (corresponding to the houses of Davison and Benson in 1683); (fn. n86) and one (the later No. 12) occupied by James Howard (abutting east and south on Sidey's house, and north on the house of William Revis, and corresponding to The Three Feathers in 1683). About 1750 the houses of Sidey and Puech (then of Thomas Field and — Rook) were burnt down, and were rebuilt as one house (the later No. 13). (fn. n87) On 26th May, 1759, Humphrey Edwin obtained a further reversionary lease to fill up his interest to 50 years. Nos. 13 and 15 are said to have become vested in his sister Martha, who had married Sir Hew Dalrymple, and on 10th May, 1803, their grandson, Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, obtained another lease of these two houses for 53½ years from 5th April, 1808. The premises, occupied by Mark Noble and John Rastrich, were in good repair, consisting of kitchen offices in the basement and four square storeys above. (fn. n88) The lease of No. 12 was on 29th January, 1777, sold to the occupier, James Cullum, "sword cutler," (fn. n89) who on 15th August of the same year obtained a Crown lease for a reversionary term of 18 years from 5th April, 1809. The lease came into the possession of Thomas Dawkins, cook, who in 1816 applied for a fresh lease. When surveyed in 1821 the house, which was an old one, consisted of kitchen offices in the basement with a vault under the street and another under the yard, four square storeys above ground and a garret in the front part of the roof. The plan then made of the premises is here reproduced. A lease of 34½ years from 5th April, 1827, was granted to Dawkins on 29th March, 1822. Figure 44: No. 12, Charing Cross in 1821. Copied from plan in the possession of H.M. Commissioners of Crown Lands John Edwin on 15th September, 1738, obtained a reversionary lease for 30 years as from Christmas, 1756, of the two houses, afterwards Nos. 14 and 11, Charing Cross, described as (i) the messuage, formerly called the Prince William, now the Rummer Tavern, in the occupation of Christopher Finch (corresponding to The Three Tuns mentioned in 1683), and (ii) the messuage, called "the Artichoak" (corresponding to the house of Hawgood), and on 3rd March, 1772, a fresh lease for 33 years as from 5th January, 1787, of the two houses was granted to Lewis Way and Thomas Corbett in trust for Elizabeth, only daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Dalrymple, only daughter of John Edwin. Of these two houses the more important (fn. n90) was No. 14, known successively as The Three Tuns (fn. n91), The Fountain, (fn. n92) The Prince William (fn. n93) and The Rummer. As the last it figures in Hogarth's engraving Night (fn. n94) (Plate 111), published in 1738. The house continued to be known by that name well into the nineteenth century. (fn. n95) In 1770 the house was said to be "Chiefly Built with Timber and … much out of repair, now in the occupation of Mathias Walsh." (fn. n96) It was probably not entirely rebuilt, for when it was surveyed in May, 1811, in connection with an application from the Earl of Balcarres (who had married Elizabeth Dalrymple) for a new lease, it was reported to be "very old, and the floors to be much out of the level." It then consisted of cellars in the basement, with three square storeys above the ground and garrets in the roof, and a room in the yard used as a bar covered with a lead flat, and then in the occupation of William Comyn. The plan made in 1822 is here reproduced. The Artichoke (fn. n97) (No. 11) was in 1770 "an old Brick Messuage, in indifferent condition … in the occupation of Willm Woolaston."In 1780 the name had been lost, for it is referred to (fn. n98) as a "Messuage … formerly called the Artichoke." When surveyed in 1811 it was reported to be "very old," consisting of cellars in the basement and four square storeys above. The plan made in 1822 is here reproduced. All five of the houses were included in the exchange made in 1829 with the Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The sites are now numbered 5 to 13, Whitehall. Site of the former Nos. 9–10, Charing Cross. On 24th June, 1533, Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas) Heneage wrote (fn. n99) to Cromwell, intimating the King's pleasure that Pero, his yeoman cook, should have his dwelling in one of the new houses at Charing Cross, and on 10th December, 1539, a grant was made (fn. n100) to Perot "le Doulce," (fn. n101) cook pro ore both to Henry VII and Henry VIII, of the tenement in which "Perott" then lived, situated among other tenements of the king near "Charyng Crosse," between the Hospital of the Blessed Mary of "Rouncedevalle" on the north and others of the King's tenements on the south, on the highway leading from the City of London to the vill of Westminster on the west, and on the Cemetery of the Hospital on the east. The grant was for 40 years from the following Lady Day. By his will, (fn. n102) dated 14th July, 1555, "Petar le Dowly" left to Ambrose "Gwynarte" the residue of his estate. Ambrose Guenard died in November, 1558. (fn. n103) His will (fn. n104) provided that the house in which he dwelt should be "devyded into two partes … the one moietie therof lying towards the Wall of the hous caled Rouncevall," i.e. the northern half, to be left to his wife, Barbe, during her widowhood, and the other to his son Francis. It is probable that a physical division of the premises was not intended: at any rate there is no evidence that this took place so early. Francis Guenard made several leases of the property to James Depree, the last being for the remainder of the 40 years' term of the original grant. In spite of this, after Guenard's death, John Fortune and William Jasper claimed the tenement on the ground that they held a lease for the rest of the term, while Depree on his side alleged that they had stolen his last indenture. (fn. n105) There is no record of the result of the suit, but Depree managed to secure a reversionary lease of the tenement, which had been granted (fn. n106) on 4th May, 1570, to Philip Strelley for 21 years from 1580. Later on he surrendered this lease, and on 4th February, 1589–90, obtained a new lease for 31 years. (fn. n107) This was in turn superseded by another lease for 40 years granted on 10th July, 1605, to John Cokoe. (fn. n108) On 20th July Cokoe assigned his interest in the premises to Eve Hickson, who on 20th September in the same year parted with it to Gabriel Brewer, armourer. (fn. n109) Brewer was already in occupation, the ratebooks showing him with "Widdowe Deprye" in 1597. In 1610 Brewer seems to have applied for a new lease, (fn. n110) and in connection therewith called attention to the fact that the tenement was "in great Ruine and Decay." This was confirmed, and the survey having disclosed certain encroachments "made uppon the said Tenemt by other the neighbour Tennants thereunto," a precise measurement was made, giving the following details: length on the north side, 59 feet; length on the south side from west to east 67 feet; width on the east side, 21 feet; width on the west side, 26 feet; width in the middle near "le Corner wall" on which a brick chimney was built, from north to south 27 feet. (fn. n111) On 19th October, 1628, Sir Nicholas Fortescue obtained (fn. n112) a lease of the premises for 31 years from the expiry of Cokoe's term, and on the following day assigned it to Richard Holt and William Carrill. The latter on 16th March, 1629–30, parted with it to Gabriel Brewer. On 14th September, 1631, a grant of the tenement of Peter Cook in perpetual fee farm was made to Sir Henry Browne and John Cliffe, jun., (fn. n113) who on 4th February in the following year assigned it to Holt and Carrill. The latter on 16th December, 1651, sold it to Sir Henry Croke, (fn. n114) who had already (28th January, 1650–1) purchased the fee farm rent. (fn. n115) We therefore have at the end of 1651 Sir Henry Croke in possession of the freehold and the heirs of Gabriel Brewer in the tenure of Fortescue's lease, due to expire in 1676. Brewer had divided the tenement into two houses, which in 1650 were surveyed by order of Parliament. They are described as: (fn. n116) "All that Tenemt built wth Tymber and Flemish Walle and Covered wth Tyle scituate … neere unto Cheringcrosse … consistinge of one Shopp and a Seller underneath the same, and behinde the said Shopp one Kitchen paved wth Purbeck stone well fitted and Joynted, alsoe one Court yard well paved. And above stayres in the first story one dyneinge Roome Wainscoted, and one other Roome behinde the same, And in the second story two Chambers, and over the same two Garretts. The ground wheron the said house standeth wth the Courtyard contayneth in Length 55 feete and in breadth 14 feete, nowe in the occupation of one Mr Wright, (fn. n117) a Stone cutter, and is worth per annum xxxiiijli. "All that Tenemt built as aforesaid and scituate as aforesaid, adioyninge south on tha' foresaid house. Consistinge of one faire shoppe nowe used by a scrivener, and one Seller under the same, and one Kitchen and one small Court paved and a stoole house there, and in the first story above stayres 2 faire Chambers & in ye second story 2 faire Chambers, and in the third story two more Chambers, and over the same 2 fayre Garretts. The ground wheron the said houses stand together Containe by admeasuremt 55 feete in Length and 12 feete in breadth nowe in the occupacion of Mr Wolford and is worth per annum xlli "Memdd one Mr Brewer (a Papist in Armes) dwellinge in Kent is the Reputed Landlord, But hath not made out his Title to us. The said Tenemts are nowe under sequestration and the Tenants pay there Rent to the state." Gabriel Brewer had died in 1640, leaving (fn. n118) to his wife, Elizabeth, "the Rents … of my two houses … wherein — Leech Esqr (fn. n119) and — Wright, Stonecutter, doe now dwell." His own residence was in the rear of these two houses on ground formerly belonging to the Hospital of Rounceval. (fn. n120) Sir Henry Croke on 10th August, 1659, conveyed the premises to Henry, his younger son, who on 15th February, 1659–60, sold them to William Burnet. Burnet left them to his son Henry, who on 12th December, 1676 (when the Fortescue lease had expired), leased them for 51¼ years to Lionel Emps, who on 8th July, 1686, purchased the freehold from William Burnet, brother of Henry. (fn. n121) The premises continued in the ownership of the Emps family until 1717. (fn. n122) On 19th February, 1716–7, Joseph Prestwood, nephew and heir of Frances Emps, sold to John Robinson the southern of the two houses (No. 10, Charing Cross), and on 10th April, 1717, the northern also (No. 9). (fn. n123) Ann Robinson, John's widow, on 28th February, 1733–4, parted with both houses, in the occupation of John Pigou, linen-draper (No. 9), and Samuel Weather, linen-draper (No. 10), to William Robinson, (fn. n124) whose widow, Isabella, sold them (fn. n125) on 14th August, 1767, to Lancelot Reed and John Holliday. They were then in the occupation of Charles Marsh (No. 9) and Francis Maw (No. 10). In 1864–5 the premises were rebuilt for the National Bank, now removed further south. Nos. 9 and 10, Charing Cross, have recently been renumbered as Nos. 1 and 3, Whitehall. n1. Westminster Abbey Deed 23192. n2. Ibid., 23201. n3. Ibid. 23204. n4. Ibid. 23205c. n5. Westmr. Reg., I, fo. 17b. n6. Westmr. Reg., II, fo. 151. n7. P.R.O., Ancient Deed, A. 1559. n8. "To Roberte Pyrrey, John Dawling and Edmonde Wethers for the leying of xx/iiij iiij. m1 pleyne tyle, as welle newe as olde upon the Rentes late Edified besides Rouncyevalle" … "For leying of xl. m1 pleyne tyles upon the newe Rentis edified nygh unto Charing crosse … Paied for the making of x Chymneys every of them with a doble Tonnelle within the newe Rentes Situate nygh unto Rouncyvall at xls the pece." (P.R.O., E. 36/252, pp. 435, 589 and 649.) n9. P.R.O., E. 315/219, ff. 10–11. n10. See particulars given in P.R.O., E. 310/19/95, fo. 42. The actual grant has not been traced. n11. P.R.O., E. 112, Jas. I, Middx., 656; E. 178/4186; and a fragment of the beginning of the latter, not noticed by Miss Honeybourne, who first made known the plan, E.134, Mich., 8 Jas. I, No. 8. n12. Apparently the person referred to in the following. "One Edward Newsom havinge a Shopp nere unto Cheyringe Crosse, goinge toward his howse in Westmr betwene the howres of 6 and 7 uppon the 19th of this Instant in the evenings " found a libel affixed to "Whytehall garden dore wch is over against the tennys court." (P.R.O., S.P. 14/4, No. 23–19th October, 1603.) n13. P.R.O., L.R. 1/54, ff. 261–2. n14. Ibid., 1/56, ff. 98–100. n15. According to the ratebooks Abraham Chapman succeeded "Edmond Newsum" in the occupation of the house in 1610 and in a list of 1618 of "such principall buildinges as have ben erected contrary to his Majesty's proclamacions since Michaelmas in the 13 yeare of his … raigne" is included "the house of Abraham Chapman betweene Charingcrosse and Whitehall, built with timber and jutties and cant windowes." (Cal. of Acts of Privy Council, 1617–19, p. 283.) n16. P.C.C., 100 Juxon, proved 17th July, 1663. n17. Final concord between James "Crag," Isabella his wife and George Parker, concerning one messuage, two cottages, one garden and half a messuage, in perpetuity. (P.R.O., C.P 25 (2) 689–Hilary, 15–16 Chas. II.) n18. P.C.C., 3 Penn, proved 19th January, 1669–70. n19. "The Black Memorial or a List of the Names of those pretended Judges who State and sentenced to Death our Sovereign King Charles I … Sold by … G. Dewell, Stationer, at the Bell and Dragon, between Charing Cross and Whitehall." (The Post Boy, 1–3rd January, 1712–3.) n20. P.R.O., E. 315/219, fo. 11. n21. P.R.O., E. 310/19/94, fo. 1. n22. P.R.O., L.R. 1/49, fo. 49. n23. P.R.O., L.R. 1/52, fo. 143b. n24. P.R.O., L.R. 1/52, ff. 144a–146.a n25. P.R.O., L.R. 1/52, fo. 162. n26. P.R.O., C. 66/2503, No. 3. n27. P.R.O., Parliamentary Surveys, Middx., E. 317, No. 3. n28. There was another Mermaid at Charing Cross, see chapter 19. n29. Shown in the ratebooks as "Penny Malhew." n30. Strangely enough the premises are not mentioned in the grant (P.R.O., C. 66/3207), but the indenture mentioned below is conclusive that they were regarded as part of the Manor. n31. See schedule attached to indenture, dated 17th July, 1688, between (1) John Hall, (2) Matthew Johnson, and (3) Sir Humphrey Edwin. (P.R.O., L.R. 1/63, ff. 53–5.) n32. The two houses were already in the possession of the Craig family before the grant of 1678, for they are mentioned in the will of James Craig (see p. 242). It is possible that they had been included in the sale by George Parker in 1663–4, whose lease had still some years to run. n33. Records of H.M. Commissioners of Crown Lands, E. 3, p. 165. n34. The ratebooks suggest that the occupiers of the front house from 1650 were: Penny Malhew (to 1664), George Stockdale (1666–79), Isaac Rowhouse (1680–84), Robert Wood (1685–93), Mrs. Wood (1694–1712), John Robinson (1713–25), John Franklin (1725–58). This list affords no clue as to when the rebuilding took place. The Hearth Tax Roll for 1674 shows the two houses as in the occupation of George "Stockdall" and "Alexr Culley," assessed at 8 and 11 hearths respectively. n35. P.R.O Ministers' Accounts, Henry VIII, 2101. n36. P.R.O., E. 315/236, fo. 225b. n37. "Captorem talparum in diversis terris nostris." n38. P.R.O., L.R. 1/47, ff. 45–6. n42. Moulton's Palaeography, Genealogy and Topography, p. 156. n44. P.R.O., E. 315/219, fo. 9. n45. This may be seen from a comparison of the earlier Ministers' Accounts with that for 1556–7 (191, Ph. and M.), in which Nicholas "Ursheus" takes the place of Simpson. n47. Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Martin's, p. 281, and Registers of St. Martin's, p. 118. n49. P.R.O., L.R. 1/49, ff. 154–6. Anthony Hill, "Cittizen and Armorer of London," died in 1647 (Will, P.C.C., 150 Fines, dated 14th April, proved 9th July, 1647). He is shown at presumably this house in the ratebooks from 1598 to 1646. n51. P.R.O., L.R. 1/60, fo. 1. The meaning of the grant is not very clear. If it was a sale Harrington did not long continue in possession. Harrington was on the commission for trying Charles I, and was afterwards a member of the Council of State. On the Restoration he was excepted from acts of pardon and warrants were issued for his arrest. His lands in the counties of York and Lancaster and his property in Westminster were granted to Charles Lord Gerard (Cal. of S. P. Dom., 1663–4, p. 538), but neither the Signed Bill (P.R.O., S.O. 7/12, March, 1663–4), nor the entry on the Patent Roll (P.R.O., C. 66/3056, No. 10), although they include the lands in Yorks and Lancs, say anything about Westminster property. n52. It is puzzling to find that the premises were also included in the perpetual fee-farm grant made to William Collins and Edward Fenn on 8th December, 1631, three months after the similar grant to Browne and Cliffe, and that the fee-farm rents payable by the latter in respect of both Cutler's and Urshaw's tenements were sold on 16th June, 1658, to Francis Offley and Richard Redding (P.R.O., E. 307/15/02). This is, however, partly explained by the King's statement on 18th February, 1675–6, that "many mistakes have been committed and many doubts have arisen in and about the Sale of Our Fee farm Rents … which have been occasioned partly through the inadvertency of Our Officers before whom the said Rents stood in charge or of the Clerks employed in the Sale of the said Rents or by some other waies or meanes." (P.R.O., S.O. 8/11.) n54. P.R.O., C. 54/3986, No. 25. n56. The identification of tenants of this house before 1687 presents difficulty. From that date, however, for a number of years they can be identified as Lawrence Courtney (1687–97), John Poulteney (1698), Samuel Cooke (1699–1703), Richard Crofts (1704–28), Wm. Clements (1728–30), Richard Haddock (1730–51) (this is a mistake; he died in 1748), Sophia Lenoy (1752–65), Olivia Harington (1766–77). n57. "Left in a Hackney Coach on Monday Night last, about 10 of the Clock, that took a Gentleman up at the Rummer-Tavern at Charing-Cross, and set him down in Holborn, A Scarlet Cloak trimm'd with Gold, and Gold Lace Button-Holes, with a Green Velvet Cape. If the Coachman, or any other Person will give an Account of the same, so that it may be had again, to Mr Crofts at the Rummer aforesaid, he shall have a Guinea Reward and no Questions ask'd." (The Post Boy, 3–5th February, 1712–3.) n58. Middx. Register, 1719, II, 61. n59. Ibid., 1733, V, 256. n60. In Haddock's will (P.C.C., 299 Strahan, dated 7th May, 1731, and proved 5th October, 1748), he describes himself as "Master of the Turk's Head Bagnio near Charing Cross." There was another Turk's Head Bagnio on the other side of the road, see p. 102. n61. The old title of The Rummer had now been transferred to the adjoining property on the north, which is described as a messuage, "now called the Rummer, which lately was the Fountain Tavern." n62. Indenture, dated 14th August, 1767. (Middx. Register, 1767, VI, 465.) n63. Elizabeth, Richard Haddock's widow, named Sophia Lenoy her executrix, and left to her the use of all her goods, chattels, effects, etc., not otherwise disposed of for the term of her life or until marriage. (P.C.C., 12 Bettesworth, dated 14th December, 1751, proved 8th January, 1752.) n64. Indenture, dated 17th March, 1789, between Joseph Rushworth and Dorothy Bean concerning the "Messuage … at Charing Cross, known by the name of the Royal Bagnio, late in the tenure of Mrs [Olivia] Harrington." (Middx. Register, 1790, II, 25.) n65. Francis Place was born in 1771. He was apprenticed to a leather-breeches maker and afterwards became an independent journeyman. In 1793 on a strike in the trade Place was chosen organiser. He also became secretary to a number of trade clubs and for a time was active in the advocacy of reform. He studied much to improve his education, and in 1807 again entered political life in support of the candidature of Sir Francis Burdett for parliament. For many years he worked hard and successfully for radical reform, and his library at Charing Cross was a regular resort for politicians of the same views. His influence declined after the passage of the Reform Bill. He died in 1854 at Hammersmith. n66. Graham Wallas's Life of Francis Place (1898), p. 33. Wallas quotes Place's own account. "I put in … a new front as elegant as the place would permit. Each of the panes of glass in the shop front cost me three pounds, and two in the door four pounds each … Such shop fronts were then uncommon; I think mine were the largest plate-glass windows in London, if indeed they were not the first … Fitting up the shop cost me nearly three hundred pounds … There were five large Argand lamps in the shop, besides candles, to make the windows and every part of it as nearly equally light as possible." n67. Indenture between Thomas Tatlock and Anne his wife and Richard Grosvenor and Edward Fazakerly. (Middx. Register, 1717, II, 90.) n68. The southern abuttals of the northern portion of the premises sold in 1706 are given as William Rogers and John "Crips." The ratebooks show that Lawson succeeded Rogers in 1709. n69. Indenture, dated 7th March, 1736–7, between John Tatlocke and Edmund Davis. (Middx. Register, 1736, V, 598.) n70. He is shown in the 1681 ratebook as succeeding Joshua Mildmay, and his residence therefore probably dated from 1680. He was a "publisher of medical books, plays and novels. Amongst the latter may be noticed The Mock Clelia, advertised in Mercurius Civicus, April 22nd, 1680, and A. Oldy's Fair Extravagant, 1681 … In the same number he also advertised a translation of one of the novels of Cervantes, called The Jealous Gentleman of Estremadura. His last advertisement was in the issue of Michaelmas, 1684" (Plomer's Dictionary of Booksellers and Printers, 1668–1725, p. 39). His last appearance in the ratebook is in 1687. n71. P.R.O., Ministers' Accounts, Hy. VIII, 2101. n72. P.R.O., E. 315/235, fo. 88b. n73. The tenement of "Orsewe" is said in 1534–5 to be that next adjoining to that of Peter Cook, who was also known as Peter "le Deulx" (see p. 254), a fact which puts beyond doubt the identity of the two. n74. "Et de xxvjs viijd Recept' pro Redditu Unius Tenementi nuper in tenur' Sebastiani le Semeno et modo in tenur' Duddye Boner" (P.R.O., Ministers' Accounts, 191 Ph. & M.). "Dyddie Bonner" is shown in the ratebook for 1577, and was succeeded by "Widdowe Bonner" in the following year. n75. See particulars for lease in P.R.O., E. 315/202, fo. 52b. n77. P.R.O., E. 315/226, pt. 2, ff. 74–5. n78. Westminster Wills, 249 Bracy, dated 8th January, 1564–5, proved ten days later. n82. P.R.O., L.R., 1/60, fo. 204. One house (that of Abraham Beck, afterwards, in 1683, of Davison) seems to be missing. n84. "Information of Samuel Jevon, drawer to Mr Pack, vintner, of the Three Tun tavern, Charing Cross. Standing at the bar he heard a great noise, and going to the room he heard John Langham say the Duke of York was a rogue and a Papist dog "—6th November, 1681 (Cal. of S.P. Dom., 1680–1, p. 552). William Pack succeeded Edward Darling in 1676 and continued until 1685. His widow took his place until 1688. n85. Given in the ratebooks as "Graisley." n86. We have a full description of the southern of these two houses as well as of The Golden Sword in 1671 (indenture, dated 13th February, 1670–1, between John Hall and Thomas Browne—P.R.O., L.R. 1/62). It runs as follows: "All yt Messuage … scittuate … neere … where Charing crosse lately stood on ye East side of ye high street there … & next adjoyning to ye south side of ye entry of ye 3 Tuns Taverne there & conteyning in lengh from ye said streete on ye west to ye house there adjoyning backward now in ye tenure … of one Mr Darling Vintner on ye East 37 feet … & in breadth below stayers from North to south 10 feet … And … consisting of theise severall roomes, that is to say, one shop next to ye street, And above stayers in ye first story 2 Chambers next to ye street, one of them lying over ye said shop & ye other next adjoyning Northward & extending over & beyond ye entry of ye said Taverne, & a faggott roome in ye same story, & over them one garrett devided into 2 roomes. And also one other Messuage … late commonly called … ye golden sword next adjoyning to ye south side of ye aforesaid … Messuage … & conteyning in lenght from ye said street there on ye West to ye said house now in ye occupacion of … Mr Darling on ye East xxv feet … & in breadth from North to south 10 feet … & consisting of … one shopp & a small kitchin, a Cellar under neath ye same, a little yard behinde ye said shopp & kitchen, And above stayers in ye first story one faire Chamber & over ye same one faire garrett." n87. See indenture dated 28th September, 1752, between Martha Edwin and John Revis and Samuel Spencer, linen drapers. The ratebook for 1750 shows the two houses as empty, and that for 1752 gives "Messrs Revis and Spencer" at a much larger house. n88. Records of H.M. Commissioners of Crown Lands, U. 4, pp. 268, 270. n89. Indenture between (1) William Hill, (2) Mary Edwin, Humphrey's widow, (3) Thomas and Elizabeth Corbett, and (4) James Cullum (P.R.O., L.R. 1/72, fo. 71). Cullum appears in the ratebooks in respect of the house in 1752. n90. It was one of the largest houses north of Scotland Yard, the Hearth Tax Rolls for 1666 and 1674 showing that it was assessed at 16 hearths. n91. There is a token extant of "Tho. Darling at 3 Tuns neare Charing Cross" (1657) (London Tokens of the 17th Century, by A. W. Franks (1862)). Thomas Darling first appears in the ratebooks in respect of this house in 1647. In 1661 his place was taken by Edward Darling, who died in 1675–6 (will dated 13th April, 1675, proved 19th April, 1676, P.C.C., 37 Bence), and was succeeded by William Pack. Pepys visited the house several times. "From thence with him [Sir W. Pen] to the 3 Tun Tavern, at Charing Cross, and there sent for up the maister of the house's dinner, and dined very well upon it, and afterwards had him and his fayre sister (who is very great with Sir W. Batten and Sir W. Pen in mirth) up to us, and looked over some medals that they shewed us of theirs, and so went away." (Diary, 1st November, 1661.) n92. "All that Messuage … near Charing Cross … called the Fountain Tavern, then or late in the occupacion of James Irwin" (indenture, dated 12th March, 1711–2, between Thomas Edwin and Charles and John Edwin—Middx. Register, 1735, I, 85). James "Irwing" is shown in the ratebooks in respect of this house from 1704 to 1711. See also p. 247. n93. See above. Finch is shown at the house from 1734 to 1737. n94. The view is looking north towards the King's statue, but the engraving is reversed, the east side of the road being shown on the left hand, and the west on the right (notice the barber is apparently shaving with his left hand). For The Cardigan's Head and The Bagnio on the right hand, see pp. 125 and 102. Next to The Rummer on the left hand is The New Bagnio, i.e., Haddock's establishment, see p. 248. The Rummer bears not only the sign of that name (a rummer was a kind of large drinking glass) but a bunch of grapes. The full sign was therefore probably The Rummer and Grapes. At The Rummer and Grapes Tavern, Westminster, one of the three leading freemasons' lodges used to meet (Larwood's History of Signboards, p. 239), and if this could be equated with the tavern at Charing Cross, it would appear likely that it was from this tavern that the intoxicated freemason (usually taken to represent Sir Thomas De Veil, the magistrate) was being led home by the tyler of his lodge. n95. This is the fifth Rummer met with in the neighbourhood, and it would seem convenient here to sum up the information with regard to them. (i) The earliest, in 1683, was one of the houses on the west side of the road, probably on the site of the timber yard (see p. 78). (ii) The Rummer Eating House is found in 1712, on the same side of the road, a little further north, probably on the site of Samuel Prior's establishment (see p. 84). (iii) There must have been a Rummer still further north, which gave its name to Rummer Court, in existence in 1754 (see p. 89). (iv) No. 16, Charing Cross, on the east side of the road, was known as The Rummer in 1706 and 1719, but in 1731 the sign had been changed to The Turk's Head and the place converted into a bagnio. (v) With the change of sign of (iv) No. 14, Charing Cross, became The Rummer. It will be seen from the above that at various dates there must have been a Rummer on each side of the street. There are also references (undated) in the Advertisements of Curiosities, preserved in the British Museum, to the Two Blue-Posts and Rummer, near Charing Cross, and The Mitre and Rummer at Charing Cross. Both The Blue Posts and The Mitre were on the west side of the street. For The Blue Posts see p. 78. The Mitre is described as "opposite Craigg's Court" in an advertisement in The Daily Advertiser for 23rd December, 1741, quoted by MacMichael, Charing Cross, pp. 61–2. n96. P.R.O., T. 55/15, pp. 362–3. Walsh had succeeded Mrs. Owen. "On Sunday Mrs Owen, who kept the Rummer Tavern by Charing-cross was suddenly taken ill, sitting in her chair, fell down and expired immediately" (The London Chronicle, 25–26th March, 1765). "Edward" Owen is shown in the ratebooks for this house from 1749 to 1765. n97. Known in 1719 as "the Golden Lyon" (indenture, dated 8th December, 1719, between Thomas, Charles and John Edwin and others—Middx. Register, 1721, VI, 103). n98. Indenture, dated 3rd August, 1780, between (1) Charles Dalrymple, (2) Thomas Corbett and (3) the Earl of Balcarres. (P.R.O., L.R. 1/72, fo. 154.) n99. Cal. of L. & P., Hy. VIII, VI, No. 694. n100. P.R.O., E. 315/235, fo. 10b. n101. Perot is generally styled Peter Cook in the Ministers' Accounts. n102. Westminster Wills, 83 Bracy. He is probably the same as "Petrus Lyddosse," buried at St. Martin's on 1st November, 1555. (Registers of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, p. 105.) n103. "It' R' the xviij Daye [of November] for the herse Clothe, the knyll, and the waste of two tapers, At the buryall of Ambrose gurnard." (Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Martin-inthe-Fields, p. 170.) n104. Westminster Wills, 144 Bracy, dated 5th October, 1558, and proved on 19th January, 1558–9. n105. The above information is taken from Depree's statement in P.R.O., Req. 2/99/27. n106. P.R.O., L.R. 1/47, fo. 161. n107. P.R.O., L.R. 1/49, ff. 47–8. His name is given as James "de Prees." James "Deprie" is shown in the ratebooks at intervals from 1587 to 1595 for what is presumably this tenement. n108. P.R.O., E. 315/229, fo. 7. n109. P.R.O., L.R. 1/51, ff. 91–2. n110. There is no record of one having been granted. n112. P.R.O., C. 66/2503, No. 2. n114. This, and most of the above information is, when not otherwise specified, obtained from the statement of Frances Emps in 1703. (P.R.O., C. 5/238/32.) n116. Parliamentary Surveys, P.R.O., E. 317, Middx., 4. n117. William Wright first appears in the ratebooks in 1607 and continues until 1653. (i) "Recognizance … of William Wright … tombe maker, in the sum of forty pounds, for the said William Wright's appearance at the next Session of the Peace … to answer … 'for annoying the streete nere Charing Crosse with loading of cartes, turning the Judges and all other passengers into the Channell.' "—4th November, 1613 (Middx. Session Records, II, p. 93). (ii) "Account by Wm. Weld of disbursements for Sir Wm. Pelham; it includes 10l paid to Mr Wright, the stonecutter at Charing Cross, towards a tomb he is making for Sir William."—23rd May, 1630. (Cal: of S. P. Dom., 1629–31, p. 263.) n118. P.C.C., 119 Coventry, dated 7th July, 1640, proved 15th September, 1640. n119. "John Leech Esquier" is shown at the house from 1638 to 1641. n120. "I give unto my said Wife … all my Lease … in the back house … wherein I now dwell holden of Sir Roger Palmer." n121. P.R.O., C. 5/238/32. n122. Lionel Emps died circa 1698, leaving the premises to his wife Frances, who in 1703 brought a suit against certain of the residents in the rear, on the Trinity Hospital estate (formerly of Rounceval), who wished to establish a right of way to the street through her property. This gives valuable information as to the history of the premises. (P.R.O., C. 5/238/32.) n123. Middx. Register, 1716, V, 177, and 1717, V, 74. n124. Ibid., 1733, V, 254. n125. Ibid., 1767, VI, 465	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1118
__label__cc	0.740431	0.259569	ESSA Report Card The Camp Hill School District is located in a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 2 miles (3.5 km) southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Our borough is a unique, close-knit community, which contains both a school district and a municipality within the same boundaries. We are a walking school district and do not provide transportation to and from school. Students are encouraged to walk or bike to school. Our schools and students are often recognized for their outstanding academic and artistic achievements, and athletic championships. The District has held a long-standing commitment to educational excellence, community strength and student success. We have maintained this mission through our ongoing focus on all students and continuous improvement. Camp Hill students excel academically, culturally, athletically and civically. Approximately 1340 students are enrolled in the district. Kindergarten, first and second grade students attend Hoover Elementary School, and third through fifth grade students attend Eisenhower Elementary School. Students in grades six through eight attend the Camp Hill Middle School, located in the same building as Camp Hill High School, which serves students in grades nine through twelve. The administrative staff consists of a Superintendent, Business Manager, Director of Special Education/Student Services, four Principals - one for each level, and an Assistant Principal serving the middle and high schools, a Technology Director, and a Director of Buildings, Grounds, Safety and Security. The Superintendent and Principals are responsible for all matters of curriculum, instruction and staff development. The Business Manager is responsible for all business and finance functions. The Director of Special Education/Student Services is responsible for all student support services. The Technology Director is responsible for the district network and educational technology needs. The Director of Buildings, Grounds, Safety and Security is responsible for facilities, operations, safety and security. The District also employs counselors, a psychologist, nurses, speech and language clinicians, special education teachers, ESL teachers, reading specialists, special subject teachers and regular education teachers. In addition, the District has a School Resource Officer (SRO) on staff. Class sizes are small, promoting students' high levels of achievement. Instruction occurs at students' developmental levels and opportunities for acceleration and enrichment are provided. Our elementary schools are appreciated for the small nurturing environment provided to students as they develop a strong foundation for future learning. Within the middle school, academics are also prioritized with a strong focus on the developmental needs of preadolescents. Our high school students excel in academic and leadership skills. Over 90% matriculate into higher education and most attend prestigious colleges. Most residents are college-educated. Parents are very interested in the schools, and many are involved as volunteers. The community is very supportive of the students and schools. Our public school district is often compared to a small private school. Within our academic and nurturing environment, rigorous programs prevail, and the achievement of all students is prioritized. The Camp Hill learning community is committed to providing all students with foundational skills, knowledge and opportunities for lifelong success.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1121
__label__wiki	0.972162	0.972162	NHL notebook: Ducks buy out former MVP Perry Published: Jun 20 at 3:17 a.m. The Anaheim Ducks bought out the contract of former NHL MVP Corey Perry on Wednesday, ending the winger's 14-year tenure with the team. Perry, 34, had two years and $12 million remaining on an eight-year contract, which included a no-trade clause. He is coming off the least productive season of his career, as he managed just six goals and four assists while missing 51 games. "This is one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in my 44 years in the NHL," executive vice president/general manager Bob Murray said in a statement. "Corey gave everything to this franchise for 14 years, never giving an inch to his competitors." Perry ranks first in franchise history in games played (988), four ahead of Ryan Getzlaf, as well as second in goals (372) and third in assists (404) and points (776). He is the only Ducks player ever to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP (2010-11). --Center Kevin Hayes is close to signing a seven-year, $50 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, removing another key player from the free agent pool, TSN reported. The Flyers acquired Hayes on June 3 from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a fifth-round selection, simply to have the first shot at signing him. Hayes spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the New York Rangers before a February deadline trade sent him to Winnipeg. In 381 career games, the 27-year-old has 92 goals and 137 assists. --The 2020 NHL Draft will be held in Montreal, the league announced. The draft will be June 26-27 at the Bell Centre. It will mark the first time that Montreal has hosted the draft since 2009. The city hosted the draft every year from 1963-84 and also was the site in 1986, 1988 and 1992. More Sports stories Report: Suns agree to deal with F Diallo Athletics bash six homers in rout of Mariners Rays-Yankees postponed, DH on Thursday Solano, Giants complete four-game sweep of Rockies	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1123
__label__cc	0.643594	0.356406	Koreans Are Accused of Illegal Gambling in the Phillipines It was reported that seventeen Koreans were arrested and suspected of providing illegal gambling services on the Internet. This was the first operation of the local police against the organizers of illegal gambling dens in the Philippines after the election of the current president. We are going to remind our readers that Rodrigo Duterte has been serving as the President of the country since July, 2016. The following persons were arrested: Lee Byungkon, Jang Hyoungjun, Lee Seungho, Jo Joongwon, Choi Myoungsoo, Kim Hansaem, Park Sungjun, Kim Minkook, Yu Doohee, Bae Mungwon, Hong Ukjin, Han Sang Seo, Park Yungjin, Kim Kyungjin, Lee Seungho, Lee Yungyu, and Kim Tawewon. It should be noted that the Korean citizens were suspected of violating the gambling-related laws in their motherland. That is why they had decided to move to the Philippines. According to the preliminary data, the suspects were accused of providing gamblers with illicit services. It was reported that the Korean citizens had been engaged in operating an illegal website with available games of chance. The surveillance preceded the raid. Its aim was to monitor activities inside a building where the Koreans were located. It was necessary to confirm the fact that they were engaged in illegal activities in order to catch them red-handed. During the raid none of the suspects could show a valid identity document to the police officers, except for Bae Myungwon. Therefore, the Korean citizens were arrested for the absence of the required documents that allowed them to be present on the territory of the Philippines. To be sure, they were also accused of operating illegal gambling websites. The suspects were informed about their constitutional rights. Gambling Online Gambling Online Casinos Illegal Gambling the Philippines South Korea	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1127
__label__wiki	0.858554	0.858554	Home » News » Europe Former Manchester United footballer to be a Dominican priest Philip Mulryne. Credit: www.Dominicans.ie. London, England, Dec 20, 2016 / 02:32 pm ().- You might have heard of Phil Mulryne, a Manchester United footballer who's shared the field with David Beckham and brought fame to Ireland with 27 caps – international appearances – in his athletic career. But now, Mulryne is setting aside his jersey to pursue the vocation of a Catholic Dominican priest. “This for me was one of the major reasons that attracted me to the religious life,” Mulryne said in a video interview posted by the Daily Mail. “To give oneself completely to God through the profession of the evangelical councils, to take him as our example and despite our weakness and our defects, trust in Him that he will transform us by his grace, and thus being transformed, communicate the joy in knowing him to everyone we meet – this for me is the ideal of Dominican life and one of the major reasons of what attracted me to the order.” Mulryne, a 38-year old Irishman, began his career in football as a kid in 1994 when he attended the Manchester United youth academy, and eventually joined the Norwich league in 1999. His teammates were among the many of his surprised acquaintances to find out that he gave up his global fame and £500,000 in career earnings to pursue the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Catholic priest. “It was a complete shock that he felt this was his calling,” fellow footballer Paul McVeigh said, according to the Daily News. After a series of major injuries at the end of his career in 2008, Mulryne was faced with the future: how would he spend his post-footballing days? According to McVeigh, Mulryne began turning “his life around and was doing a lot of charitable work and helping the homeless on a weekly basis.” The Catholic Herald reported that Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor became an influential figure during Mulryne’s conversion, eventually inviting him to enter the seminary. “I know for a fact that this is not something he took lightly as the training to be ordained as a Catholic priest consists of a two-year philosophy degree, followed by a four-year theology degree and only after that will he finally be qualified as a priest,” McVeigh said. In 2009, the Irish native entered the Irish Pontifical College in Rome, where he has been pursuing the priesthood through studies in philosophy and theology. This fall, on Oct. 30, he was ordained a deacon in Belfast by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, and is set for priestly ordination in 2017. This article was originally published on CNA Nov. 3, 2016. Tags: Priesthood, Catholic News, Dominicans, Manchester United Ordained a priest, former Manchester United footballer's goal is Christ Former Irish soccer pro Philip Mulryne was ordained a priest of the Order of Preachers, or... Dominican Republic priest arrested on suspicion of killing teen The National Police of the Dominican Republic have arrested a priest on suspicion of killing a... Dominican priest: Lack of belief within the Church enables the diabolical spirit According to one exorcist working in Italy, the average time needed for a person to be freed...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1128
__label__wiki	0.659964	0.659964	A petition from the campaign to 77,847 people have helped this campaign 34,387 signed +4,387 over goal 6 Updates BREAKING: Shell cancels 2014 Arctic drilling Shell just announced that for the second year in a row, it will not drill in the Arctic waters off the US coast of Alaska. This is a major victory for all of us working to save the Arctic, but now we need to fight harder than ever if we’re going to win.This… Update #6 · over 5 years ago Arctic 30 activists return home, Russia grants amnesty As of January 6, 2014, the last foreign Arctic 30 member has left Russia although Russian authorities have yet to release the ship, the Arctic Sunrise.The Greenpeace activists who spent two months in jail after a peaceful protest in the Arctic have expressed… Sign the Petition to The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Department of the Interior failed to conduct an adequate environmental impact assessment before selling large areas in the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas exploration. Now Shell has announced that it cannot drill in 2014. The Court concluded that the Department's estimate of one billion barrels of recoverable oil under the frozen Arctic Ocean was "chosen arbitrarily" and that the Department of the Interior "based its decision on inadequate information about the amount of oil to be produced pursuant to the lease sale 193." You cannot keep in place a lease that examined only the best case scenario for environmental harm. By choosing a low figure that only reflects the best case scenario, data in the EIS (and other assessments that relied on that figure) were skewed toward fewer environmental impacts, which the court said impeded a full and fair discussion of the potential effects of the project. I am urging you to cancel the current lease under which several oil companies want to drill in the Chukchi Sea and to stop the process to sell new leases in the Arctic Ocean. This petition closed over 4 years ago How this will help BREAKING NEWS: Just this week, Shell announced that it cannot drill in the Alaskan Arctic this year. But the fight isn't over. This announcement comes a week after a federal court ruled that the... This announcement comes a week after a federal court ruled that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — the federal agency that permits oil companies to drill offshore — intentionally downplayed the impact Arctic oil drilling would have on the fragile environment of the Arctic Ocean. We still need to make sure no oil companies can drill under this lease. The Alaskan Arctic is home to hundreds of Alaskan Native communities in addition to wildlife like polar bears, seals and whales. Send a message to President Obama today, urging him to cancel this lease and stop drilling in the Alaskan Arctic for good.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1129
__label__wiki	0.674999	0.674999	Buchanan Presidential Dollar Coin Cover Available by CoinNews.net on October 1, 2010 · 3 comments The United States Mint on Thursday, September 30, 2010, placed the James Buchanan Presidential $1 Coin Cover on sale at a price of $15.95. The 32,000 limited-edition product is the third of four 2010 releases in the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series and the fifteenth since the covers were introduced for the Presidents in 2007. The covers were priced $1 less prior to 2010 and had a higher authorized production of 40,000. Each cover features two James Buchanan Presidential dollars. Both are from the first day of production, which was on June 1, 2010. One coin is from the U.S. Mint’s Denver facility and the other is from Philadelphia. The $1s coins are framed within a display card featuring a portrait of the President. The card also includes a 44-cent Flag postage stamp with a postmark of August 19, 2010, Lancaster, PA. That is the date the dollars were released into circulation and also when the Mint began offering them in $25 rolls. The obverse or heads side of the $1, designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, features a portrait of Buchanan and the inscriptions "JAMES BUCHANAN," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "15TH PRESIDENT" and "1857-1861." James Buchanan: 15th President, 15th in Presidential $1 Coin Series The following is a brief biography of Buchanan, provided by the U.S. Mint when the $1 honoring him was first released. Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President, was born on April 23, 1791, near Mercersburg, Pa. He was the oldest of 11 children. After graduating from college, Buchanan studied law and began a successful law career in 1812. During the War of 1812, he helped defend Baltimore against British attack. Buchanan, a gifted orator, became a state legislator, and later served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and as U.S. minister to Russia. In 1845, he became President James K. Polk’s secretary of state. His later service abroad as U.S. minister to Great Britain helped insulate him from the growing domestic controversy over slavery, which was reaching a crescendo by 1856, helping him secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. Two days after Buchanan was inaugurated, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the controversial Dred Scott decision, which effectively legalized slavery in all U.S. territories. The decision was another factor that propelled the Nation toward civil war. James Buchanan Presidential Dollar and Rolls As mentioned, the James Buchanan $1 is the 15th coin released in the series honoring U.S. Presidents. It is the third for 2010 and follows the Franklin Pierce coin that was launched into circulation on July 1, 2010. The next coin features Abraham Lincoln, which will launch on November 18, 2010. The first four Presidential Dollars issued in 2007 had the image of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The next four $1 coins released in 2008 honored James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. The 2009 coins depicted William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and John Tyler. The first 2010 $1 coin honored Millard Fillmore. To date, the Buchanan dollars are the scarcest in the series, with just over 73.3 million minted. Order Coin Cover from US Mint Orders may be placed through the 2010 President Franklin Pierce: United States Mint Product page A $4.95 shipping and handling charge will be added. No household order limits are in place. The covers may also be purchased through the Mint’s toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Rolls of the dollars are available directly from the Mint as well. They are available through specially Mint-wrapped $25 rolls containing either Denver or Philadelphia minted strikes for a price of $35.95, plus shipping and handling. Buchanan Presidential $1 Coin & Liberty Medal Set Issued Taylor Presidential $1 Dollar Coin Cover Issued James K. Polk Presidential Dollar Coin Cover US Mint Sales: 2010 Bullion Coins Ease, James Buchanan in Spotlight \| Coin News […] James Buchanan Presidential $1 Coin Covers appear in the sales tables for the first time this week, having just been released Thursday, September 30, 2010. Four-day orders totaled 16,220, which continues a trend of lower opening sales as compared to previous debuting figures for the series: […] Joyette Jones I would like to know the worth of this coin What is the value gold tone $1.00 coin James Buchanan ? Gold Ends Above 6-Year High; Silver Closes Near 5-Month High Gold Dips 0.2%; Silver Marks 20-Week High Gold Ends Near Two-Week High on Monday, July 15 Gold, Silver and Platinum Log Weekly Gains Coin Web Sites Melt Values for Silver Coins	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1139
__label__wiki	0.698001	0.698001	IT Management Features Learndirect transforms technical service desk Skills and training provider Learndirect is fixing technical issues in just minutes after launching a new technical service desk to support learners and remote tutors. Charlotte is the former editor of Techworld. Charlotte Jee May 30, 2014 The solution supports 11 agents at the company’s technical service desk, which is located in its Leicester office and launched last June. It supports learners both at the company’s physical centres and online and deals with technical problems, for example if a course isn’t loading or password issues. More than 10,000 people log onto Learndirect every day and it trains roughly 20,000 apprentices every year. It has helped to train more than four million people and 75,000 businesses since it was launched in 2000. Previously employees were able to deal with simple queries but, if using a particular browser or operating system, they couldn’t replicate the issue themselves, so they had to pass on more complex tasks to employees based at their office in Sheffield. “That was more expensive for us and from the customer’s perspective it is much better to get it fixed straight away”, service delivery manager Alex Panizzi explained. Service desk solution She said: “Regarding the service desk, we told Damovo what we were trying to achieve, they designed and put together an appropriate laptop-based solution with different browsers and operating systems, and then implemented that for us.” The solution consists of an HP laptop environment using VMware Workstation, which allows agents to switch between multiple operating systems, enabling them to replicate end-users operating environments and diagnose issues more effectively. It also uses Windows Deployment Server which allows rapid deployment if there’s a laptop failure. Panizzi added: “Learndirect has a long history with Damovo and it’s one of our strategic partners. They started a five-year contract as our overall managed service supplier in 2010. They provide the thin clients that the service centre uses, the telephony, web filtering, all the standard things you’d expect from an end-to-end managed service”. With the contract due to come to an end in a year, Panizzi said: “We’re starting to think of what we’ll do afterwards, and chatting to Damovo.” She explained: “For Learndirect as a whole, because we’re providing learning through technology, we want to be at the forefront and innovative side of things. Rather than just go for whatever technology we fancy, we look at the business requirements, chat with suppliers, and go with the partnership approach.” Learndirect, which was set up by New Labour to improve workforce skills, merged with training company JHP Group in December 2012. Panizzi said: “This made us much bigger and now we have a much stronger presence around apprenticeships rather than just English and maths. We have a dual delivery model of physical centres and online learning at home. It’s flexible depending on what kind of learner you are and how you like to study.” IT's top 5 training mistakes Whitehall spells out cloud, green and end user IT strategy	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1143
__label__wiki	0.713956	0.713956	Mobile Features Barclays to launch contactless payments wristband Barclays is preparing to tap into demand for wearables devices, with the launch of a trial of its bPay contactless wristband. Matthew Finnegan Matthew Finnegan is the former editor of Computerworld UK. He joined IDG in January 2013, having spent two years writing for various online tech publications. He still covers enterprise technology over at Computerworld in the USA. Matthew Finnegan June 9, 2014 Around 7,000 consumers will be able to try out the bPay band at a number of events this summer, ahead of a full rollout in 2015. The pilot include the Wireless Festival, where attendees will be able to upload their ticket and add credit to the band, allowing them to make payments of up to £20 at a time. Upon its full launch, the band will be available to customers of all banks for no fee, allowing contactless payments at 300,000 payments terminals. It is not the first time that Barclaycard has announced the launch of a contactless payments wristband, with its Payband wearable device was announced in 2012. The service used the same NFC technology, though wristbands were used once and for specific events only. A number of companies have launched wristband devices as interest in the technology has increased. This has included a range of hardware - from the fitness-related devices released by the likes of Nike, to Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatch, while the ongoing trial of Google Glass smart glasses has attracted significant attention. According to analysts at IDC, the market for wearable devices is set to boom, with growing by 78 percent a year until 2018. This means that the number of smartwatches and related should top 19 million by the end of 2014, triple the number from last year, before reaching 112 million in 2018. A number of banks have also begun to develop technology related to the wearable devices. For example, Spanish lender Caixa Bank has developed a range of consumer apps for use with smartwatches and Google Glass. Last year, the research arm of financial services firm Fidelity Investments claimed to have developed the first Google Glass app targeted specifically at investors and traders. Speaking to ComputerworldUK at a recent event, Barclays said that the bank has no firm plans to develop for Google Glass at the moment. Barclays awarded top spot for UK mobile banking VeriFone payments offline for two weeks	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1144
__label__cc	0.539127	0.460873	PONSSA maria laura Sesamoids in Anurans: New Data, Old Issues PONSSA ML, GOLDBERG J, ABDALA V Revista: ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC Lugar: Utah; Año: 2010 vol. 293 p. 1646 - 1646 Sesamoids are skeletal elements rarely considered in studies of the vertebrate skeleton. In this work, we integrate ontogenetic data of anuran sesamoids in two species (Leptodactylus latinasus and Pleurodema cf.guayapae), the related structures (tendons, muscles, and joints) in L. latinasus, and a survey of sesamoid distribution in 185 anuran taxa. Our main goals are: (1) to contribute to the knowledge of the comparative anatomy of sesamoids in tetrapods; (2) to provide additional developmental evidence to interpret the ontogenetic pattern of sesamoids in anurans, as a key to elucidate that of tetrapods in general; (3) to provide data about tendon development in relation to sesamoid development in anurans for the first time;and (4) to propose a pattern of anuran sesamoid distribution. The homologies of sesamoids across tetrapods are discussed here. Observations were made in cleared and stained skeletal whole-mounts. Fifty-four sesamoids were found in anurans, thirty-seven of which occur in L. latinasus. The traditional point of view of embedded sesamoids always resulting from biomechanical stimuli of a previously existing tendon is not sustained by our data. Many sesamoids arise before the differentiation of a tendinous tissue. Our survey results in a data set where the two big anuran clades, Hyloides (12 families) and Ranoides (14 families), were represented. The matrix has 38% missing entries. Most of the surveyed sesamoids have multiple origins, with only three of them (about 19%) having one origin.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1146
__label__wiki	0.985043	0.985043	Whitney Port: Sexy in "The City" Once known as LC's sidekick, The City's Whitney Port is now dealing firsthand with all the drama that comes with being a reality star. Here, she talks guys, friends, and what her life is really like when the cameras are off. (No, really.) By Monica Corcoran Whitney Port certainly doesn't come across as a crybaby. She arrives for her Cosmo interview lunch looking totally chic, dressed in blue velvet leggings, a bouclé Mossimo cardigan, and slouchy chestnut brown Diesel boots. Plus, she just seems so damn approachable, so comfortable with herself. In fact, according to Adam DiVello, creator and executive producer of MTV's The Hills and The City, her easy likability was a major factor in his giving Whitney, 24, her very own reality series. But Whitney has a little confession to make. As much as she enjoys certain aspects of her life on The City, there are moments when being a reality star makes her want to bawl. "I break down a couple of times a week, at least," she admits, rolling her almond-shaped brown eyes and then letting out a sigh. "It gets overwhelming. Sometimes I think that I can't take this anymore. I just want to live a normal life." Most of the tears are due to losing so much of her privacy on the show. Sure, she's had some practice with the reality genre: She was on The Hills for four seasons as the voice of reason and coworker confidante to Lauren Conrad. But back then, sometimes she filmed only one day a week and usually only while she was at work. At that time, Whitney rarely gave away many personal details. If you're the star of the show, though, there's really no way to hide. She now has multiple cameras trailing her much of the time, capturing her every move at work (she's in the publicity department at Diane von Furstenberg), at play, and in love. And when you expose the details of your personal life to 1.5 million viewers each week, you become just as much of a target for criticism as any A-list Hollywood starlet. "I'm definitely vulnerable," she says, taking a bite of her grilled-vegetable salad. "It can get me down when people say that I'm boring or stupid or I don't have much personality. But the person you see on the show is not exactly who I am." She adds sheepishly, "The whole reality thing is semi-embarrassing." But the show will be back for more episodes, and Whitney is game to keep going, even if it means a few crying jags. There's a reason she's willing to expose herself, one that's different from what you might suspect. "I never really wanted to be on television, and I never needed that kind of attention," she says. "I don't want to be an actress." Instead, the University of Southern California graduate says she jumped at the chance to have a TV show in order to advance her dream of becoming a fashion designer. And guess what? Whitney Eve — the flirty, feminine line she recently created — will be available at Barneys and Nordstrom stores this spring. So for a while longer, at least, Whitney will be wrapped up in the crazy, public world of breakups and makeups, friends and frenemies. Speaking of that crazy world, now that we've got her at lunch, we're dying to ask all about it. Of course, we know that, as with any reality show, some details are sort of real and some are just plain staged. So how much of what we're seeing is genuine Whitney…and how much is her life really like what is shown on episodes of The City? Off camera, she's remarkably similar to what you see onscreen, despite her earlier denial. She's incredibly polite (she calls the bus boy "sir" and says "thank you very much" whenever the server brings her something). She's articulate (she thoughtfully chooses her words before speaking and gestures with her hands when she wants to emphasize a point). And she's confident and unapologetic about who she is ("I figure that not everyone can like you," she says, shrugging). Like, for instance, Olivia Palermo? On The City, the New York socialite who works with Whitney is perpetually glaring at her and asking embarrassing gotcha! questions. "I don't know how to explain her," Whitney says after a brief pause. (Obviously, Whitney is unwilling to let loose on her costar, though she does admit that they never hang out offscreen.) "Olivia kind of mothers me and looks at me as a pet project, but I'm like 'I'm not some country bumpkin — I'm from Los Angeles!' " Though Whitney has a few newfound New York friends on The City, she says that she would never let her true best friends appear alongside her. "They're just so important to me, and I don't want anything to mess with that," she says of the friends she has known since second grade. "As I have gotten older, my circle has dwindled. But I'd rather have a few best friends than a bunch of fringe ones." And it just so happens that one of those tight friends is her former reality costar from The Hills, Lauren Conrad. "Whitney is totally unaware of how amazing she is — that she is gorgeous and charming and has the body of a supermodel — and that's all part of her charm," Lauren says. She's fielded calls from Whitney when the stress of being constantly "on" has gotten to be too much. "It can be overwhelming, and I think that she's struggling with that a bit," Lauren says. "She moved to a city where she really has none of her good friends. She has said to me, 'I feel like I just got to college.' " Lauren can relate to the idea of living your life on center stage: "It's weird that millions of people know intimate details about you, and it's just something you have to get used to. People you'll never meet in your life will have a strong hatred toward you." But she has a feeling her friend won't be worrying too much about her haters. "Whitney would rather gain respect and create a business that's going to outlive her 15 minutes on a reality show," Lauren says. Whitney is grateful to have a friend who understands exactly what she's going through. "We talk a lot," she says. "If anyone knows what's going on with me, it's Lauren. She taught me to trust my gut and listen to myself. When it comes to my relationships, I always ask her 'How do you do this?' " KISS-AND-TELL The relationship of most concern has been Whitney's with Australian singer Jay Lyon, whom she met while filming The Hills. Clearly, it hasn't been easy to have her romance played out onscreen every week. "You never forget that the cameras are there. They're huge," Whitney says. "I'm used to it now, but it's weird when they ask us to kiss so they can film it." That lack of privacy definitely grates on her. "I don't like that everyone watching gets to analyze our relationship," she says. "People feel like they know us and need to give us advice and rescue us." Talking to Whitney, it's hard to gauge what's really going on with Jay now. She smiles widely when she says his name and admits to spending most of her time with him when they're not filming, but she bites her lip when asked whether she's dropped the L bomb. "I'm scared to be in love because I don't want to let myself go, and I don't know if I'm ready to get that deeply into it," she admits. "We had a long talk and decided that we need to get to know each other on a more personal level and realize that the show is not the reason that we're together." Ask her about marriage and the girl nearly chokes on her salad. "I can't even think about that right now!" she says. "Getting married is never something that I would need in order to feel complete." Jay aside, Whitney's attitude about guys in general seems to run along similarly self-sufficient lines. "I don't need a guy to call me every second," she says. "I find that if you give them their independence, you're more attractive to them and they appreciate you more. I have always been a confident person and don't feel the need to watch over a guy. It's so important in a relationship to have your own separate lives." Infidelity, though — a topic that seems to surface all the time on reality shows — is apparently a deal breaker. "If I were in a relationship, I'd break up with a guy before I cheated," she says after admitting that she has "dabbled" when the lines were blurred with guys she'd dated in the past. "And if a guy ever cheated on me, I'm out of there. Once you lose that trust, you can never get it back." Of course, there's another element here that adds to the ambiguity of Whitney's love life: She can't be completely candid about it, because that would ruin the suspense of the show. Which is just one more example of the bizarre real-but-television life of Whitney Port. She's keeping her eye on the bigger picture, though. "I always try to take the good out of any situation, and this is such a unique opportunity," she says, getting up and preparing to hit up a few vintage shops and grab some frozen yogurt. "I have to believe in myself. I have to be my biggest advocate or I would crumble." Though not in front of the cameras, of course. Go behind the scenes at Whitney's Cosmo cover shoot! [link href="/style-beauty/fashion/news/g724/Star-Style-Evolution-whitney-port/" link_updater_label="internal_full"]Star Style Evolution: Whitney Port's Fashion Makeover This fashionable female never fails to impress. [link href="/style-beauty/fashion/news/g724/Star-Style-Evolution-whitney-port/" link_updater_label="internal_full"]Check out how this MTV star has evolved her look. [link href="/style-beauty/beauty/advice/a2821/whitney-port-hair-secrets/" link_updater_label="internal_full"]Celeb Hairstyles: Whitney Port Read all about Whitney's hair secrets. [link href="/style-beauty/beauty/advice/a2821/whitney-port-hair-secrets/" link_updater_label="internal_full"]These 'dos are red-carpet worthy. [link href="http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/category/shows/the-city/" link_updater_label="external" target="_blank"]MTV's Remote Control Can't get enough of "The City"? [link href="http://remotecontrol.mtv.com/category/shows/the-city/" link_updater_label="external" target="_blank"]Exclusive photos, videos, and articles are all available on MTV's official TV blog! More From Celebs Ovi from 'Big Brother' Has an Adorable Girlfriend Khloé Explains Why Her Nose Looks Crazy Wait, So Are Zendaya and Tom Holland Dating? Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams' Love Story Is 😍 'The Bachelor' Creator Has Been Accused of Abuse Blue Ivy's Cameo in "Spirit" Broke the Internet Russian Irina Shayk Stans Are Coming for Lady Gaga Bey's Dress Hack Meeting Meghan Is So LOL Brides-to-Be Are Getting "Hand Lifts" for the Perfect Engagement Selfie 12 Reasons Why Blush Is the New Black Whitney Port's Hottest Hair Looks We Got Married at the Grammys Sleep With Ryan Gosling On the Regs	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1150
__label__cc	0.718356	0.281644	Case Name Hastings Automotive v. Sebelius FA-MN-0010 Docket / Court 0:14-cv-00265-PAM-JJG ( D. Minn. ) State/Territory Minnesota Case Type(s) Speech and Religious Freedom Special Collection Contraception Insurance Mandate This is one of many lawsuits brought challenging the Obama administration's 2012 Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring employers to pay for employees' contraception and abortifacients via medical insurance coverage. Many religious hospitals, charities, universities, and other ... read more > This is one of many lawsuits brought challenging the Obama administration's 2012 Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring employers to pay for employees' contraception and abortifacients via medical insurance coverage. Many religious hospitals, charities, universities, and other enterprises owned or controlled by religious organizations or individuals who opposed contraception on doctrinal grounds, argued the mandate violated their religious beliefs. For a full list of these cases please see our collection of the Contraception Insurance Mandate cases here. On January 29, 2014, several privately-owned automobile dealerships filed this lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the U.S District Court for the District of Minnesota against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The ACA's contraception mandate required employers to provide health insurance coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for women with reproductive capacity. The plaintiffs sought preliminary and permanent injunctions, alleging that the mandate infringed on their rights to free exercise of religion and free speech, the establishment of religion prohibition and equal protection, all in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The plaintiffs, represented by the Liberty Institute, complained that no exemption or accommodation existed for for-profit organizations such as theirs, even if they objected to the Mandate based on sincerely-held religious beliefs. On March 19, 2014, the District Court (Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson) granted the plaintiffs' March 3, 2014, motion for stay until the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., No. 13-354 (later recaptioned as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby). Because the government agreed to not take action while waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling, the plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction was denied as moot. On May 28, 2014, the District Court granted the plaintiffs' renewed preliminary injunction and enjoined the defendants from enforcing the contraception mandate, again, while waiting for the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, which was handed down on June 30, 2014. In 5-4 opinion by Justice Alito, the Supreme Court held that the HHS regulations imposing the contraceptive mandate violated RFRA, when applied to closely-held for-profit corporations. The Court emphasized, however, that alternative methods for meeting the government's asserted interest were available. Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Stores, Inc., 134 S. Ct. 2751 (2014). In this case, on December 10, 2014, the District Court entered a judgment--stipulated by both sides--that in light of the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, the government was enjoined from enforcing the contraception mandate against the plaintiffs. In March of 2015, the Court granted an extension of time for the plaintiffs to move for attorneys' fees. There are no further entries on the docket, so we do not know how the issue was resolved. The case is now closed. Beth Richardson - 07/08/2015 Michael Beech - 03/09/2019 Establishment Clause Free Exercise Clause Preliminary relief granted Jurisdiction-wide Public (for-profit) corporation Non-government for profit Causes of Action Religious Freedom Rest. Act/Religious Land Use and Inst. Persons Act (RFRA/RLUIPA) Defendant(s) United States Department of Health and Human Services United States Department of Treasury Plaintiff Description Minnesota auto dealerships Nature of Relief Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order Declaratory Judgment 0:14-cv-265 (D. Minn.) FA-MN-0010-9000.pdf \| Detail Verified Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief [ECF# 1] [Order] [ECF# 27] (D. Minn.) Order [ECF# 34] (D. Minn.) Judges Magnuson, Paul Arthur (D. Minn.) show/hide docs FA-MN-0010-0002 \| FA-MN-0010-0003 \| FA-MN-0010-0004 \| FA-MN-0010-9000 Plaintiff's Lawyers Dys, Jeremiah G. (Texas) show/hide docs FA-MN-0010-0001 \| FA-MN-0010-9000 Kantke, Meghann F. (Minnesota) show/hide docs Kovacs, Pamela (Minnesota) show/hide docs FA-MN-0010-0001 Mateer, Jeffrey C. (Texas) show/hide docs Nash, Kathryn M. (Minnesota) show/hide docs Defendant's Lawyers Bildtsen, Ann M (Minnesota) show/hide docs Humphreys, Bradley Philip (District of Columbia) show/hide docs	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1151
__label__wiki	0.910469	0.910469	What happened during the 8 minutes after an Ancora patient collapsed? A nurse arrived within a minute after an Ancora patient fell face down to the floor. It took nearly eight minutes until someone started CPR. What happened during the 8 minutes after an Ancora patient collapsed? A nurse arrived within a minute after an Ancora patient fell face down to the floor. It took nearly eight minutes until someone started CPR. Check out this story on courierpostonline.com: https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/04/11/ancora-patient-died-staff-fumbled-cpr-federal-report-finds/3435969002/ Kim Mulford, Cherry Hill Courier-Post Published 2:18 p.m. ET April 11, 2019 \| Updated 4:43 p.m. ET April 11, 2019 Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow Twp., N.J. (Photo: Joe Lamberti/Courier Post) WINSLOW TWP. - A federal investigation into a patient's death at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital last month found doctors and nurses left the patient face down on the floor for about eight minutes before one of them turned the patient over to begin CPR. The investigation conducted by the N.J. Department of Health on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revealed multiple failures, including: Failure to check for pulse or breathing. Failure to begin CPR until directed to do so by the hospital's chief of medicine. Failure to follow proper protocol. Failure to protect the rights of a patient who witnessed the death. The March 18 incident occurred in a hallway near the nurse's station shortly after lunch in Cedar Hall. Investigators reviewed video recordings, hospital policies and medical records, and interviewed employees. The survey found the hospital was not in compliance with federal regulations, placing patients in "immediate jeopardy" of serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death. More: Ancora staff on leave after patient death Deborah Hartel, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Health, said Thursday all licensed professional staff who failed to respond appropriately "are being held accountable" and disciplinary actions are underway. "Our priority is quality care and ensuring the safety of patients," Hartel said in an emailed statement. "We have trained and retrained staff throughout the hospital system. When we find licensed professionals do not provide appropriate care, we take action up to and including removal." Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, Winslow Township. (Photo: John Ziomek/Staff Photographer) The department has been working to reform all four state psychiatric hospitals since last summer, when an independent consultant found widespread problems. About a month before the patient died, Ancora staff demonstrated a new training simulation unit and displayed new CPR mannequins for a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey reporter. The death and its investigation revealed "significant gaps" in patient care at the state-run hospital, said Phil Lubitz, associate director of advocacy and public policy for NAMI New Jersey. "Unfortunately, the gap in care at a facility like Ancora can sometimes result in tragic consequences," Lubitz said. Though the state took immediate action to discipline employees and order training, Lubitz said workforce issues have persisted for more than a decade. "We understand that Ancora, because of its location, is a very difficult place to recruit workers, but all the same, these are not new problems," Lubitz said. "It’s disheartening that we seem to be making so little headway in resolving the very most basic requirement of a hospital: that we can assure the physical safety of our patients, as we’re trying to work at resolving whatever mental health issue they have that has brought them to the hospital," Lubitz added. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the state's 21-page report Thursday. Using the time stamp from video surveillance, the report detailed the timeline of events after the patient fell. At 12:50:40, the patient collapses face down on the floor. Eleven seconds later, an aide checks on the patient and appears to call other staff for help. Exactly one minute after the patient fell, a licensed practical nurse brings an electronic vital signs monitor to the patient. At 12:52:29, a registered nurse touches the patient's arm and then the patient's wrist. At 12:53:16, the RN places a blood pressure cuff on the patient's arm. Moments later, the RN places a pulse oximeter sensor on the patient's finger. At 12:54:27, a medical emergency supply cart is brought to the scene. Moments later, the RN shakes the patient's back. At 12:55:03, the assistant director of nursing arrives at the scene. Seconds later, the cart is opened. A staff member is seen preparing an intravenous line. At 12:56:34, an Ancora doctor arrives at the scene. Ten seconds later, a second Ancora doctor arrives. They talk with each other, and at 12:56:59, the first doctor bends down to the patient. At 12:57:00, the assistant director of nursing places a CPR board on the back of the patient, who is still face down. At 12:57:07, the first doctor stands up, steps back and observes the patient. At 12:57:30, the assistant director of nursing removes the CPR board. Twenty-two seconds later, the first doctor and the assistant director of nursing prepare to apply stethoscopes to the patient's back. At 12:58:00, they listen to the patient's back through the stethoscopes. Nineteen seconds later, the patient is rolled over for the first time. At 12:58:27, the assistant director of nursing begins chest compressions. CPR continues until 1:32:22 p.m. Investigators also reviewed the records of a patient who was "having a difficult time coping" after witnessing the death, and found the hospital failed to provide the patient with proper psychological care. After witnessing the death, the traumatized patient became agitated, refused medication and was placed into restraints multiple times, the report noted. Contrary to hospital policy, no time limits on the restraint use were ordered, and no one updated the patient's care plan for a week after the incident, the investigation found. Hartel disputed those findings. She said the patient received psychological therapy, behavioral support and was on direct observation after witnessing the incident. However, she added, "the clinical treatment plan was not immediately updated to reflect the clinical interventions provided." Additionally, there were documentation issues regarding the use of restraints, Hartel said. She said the department's plan to correct the problem includes quality assurance checks on all restraint orders and physician scorecards. In 2015, Ancora briefly lost its federal certification after investigators flagged the hospital for similar failures to update care plans following multiple episodes of restraint use. The hospital did not lose any federal funding. The hospital maintains its federal certification and a "Gold Seal of Approval" from The Joint Commission. Kim Mulford: @CP_KimMulford; (856) 486-2448; kmulford@gannettnj.com Help the Courier-Post continue to provide reporting like this. Find our latest subscription options and special offers here. Read or Share this story: https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/04/11/ancora-patient-died-staff-fumbled-cpr-federal-report-finds/3435969002/ Virtua buys Lourdes Health System Timeline: The Lourdes deal that fell apart $1.1M settlement in police shooting lawsuit Labor Department: Diner shortchanged employees Surveillance caught pair lighting fires, police say Lady of Lourdes pays $1.1 million in fraud case	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1153
__label__wiki	0.937714	0.937714	Merger of Evansville's Vectren into Houston's CenterPoint Energy takes another step Vectren's merger into CenterPoint Energy of Houston is still expected to become official in the first quarter of 2019. Merger of Evansville's Vectren into Houston's CenterPoint Energy takes another step Vectren's merger into CenterPoint Energy of Houston is still expected to become official in the first quarter of 2019. Check out this story on courierpress.com: https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2018/10/08/merger-evansvilles-vectren-houstons-centerpoint-energy-takes-another-step-forward/1568033002/ John T. Martin, Evansville Courier & Press Published 2:29 p.m. CT Oct. 8, 2018 \| Updated 4:35 p.m. CT Oct. 9, 2018 CenterPoint Energy(Photo: Facebook) EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Vectren's merger into CenterPoint Energy of Houston has taken another step forward, and the transaction is still expected to become official in the first quarter of 2019. The merger on Friday cleared the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a required part of the process. In August, Vectren shareholders approved the transaction. Vectren and CenterPoint Energy announced the move in April. The combined company, called CenterPoint Energy, will have headquarters in Houston. The company's natural gas utilities operation and Indiana electric operation will be in Evansville. “We are pleased by the FERC’s decision to approve the merger between Vectren and CenterPoint Energy, moving us closer to finalizing the transaction,” Vectren Chariman, President and CEO Carl Chapman said in a news release. Chapman and some other Vectren executives are to receive buyouts and leave the company. It is not clear how much of Vectren's total local employment force, about 1,300, will be downsized. CenterPoint Energy officials have said the company will retain a significant Southwest Indiana presence and be active in local communities. Neither Indiana nor Ohio — where Vectren also has natural gas customers — has approval authority over the merger. But informational proceedings with regulators in both states have been initiated. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has set a schedule to review information submitted by the companies. This includes a hearing about the merger, on Oct. 17. Vectren said a hearing before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is not expected. Vectren, while waiting for the merger's final approval, is seeking IURC approval of a natural gas plant in Posey County that is to cost nearly $900 million. A hearing on the plan is scheduled Tuesday morning in Indianapolis. The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor says the plan should not go forward. More: What you need to know: Utility commission to hear evidence on Vectren natural gas plant More: Regulators should reject Vectren plan to pay for natural gas plant, OUCC says More: Vectren solar project not in public interest, state's consumer rep says More: CenterPoint Energy: Outreach, presence in Evansville will continue after Vectren merger Read or Share this story: https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2018/10/08/merger-evansvilles-vectren-houstons-centerpoint-energy-takes-another-step-forward/1568033002/ Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office issues new list of outstanding warrants Oliver Dill remembered for his practical jokes, love of animals 'Nobody believes this can happen to them': How awareness can save lives EWSU: Some signing up for repair plan option WEHT owner Nexstar still negotiating return to DIRECTV	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1154
__label__cc	0.56857	0.43143	Hitler 's Influence On The Nazi Party Hitler 's Influence On The Nazi Party Essay 1896 Words May 29th, 2015 8 Pages Adolf Hitler: a self-made man with wicked intentions; a man that ravaged his country and inflicted fear nearly all over the world. Hitler was a crafty individual, and the strengths of his party—the Nazi Party—played a significant role in his rise to power. Nazi campaigning methods combined with the excellent speaking skills of Hitler gathered a lot of attention for the Nazi Party. Furthermore, their policies and violent treatment of their opponents—Communists—appealed to businessmen, farmers and most of the population; if anyone criticized one of their policies, “they were quite likely to drop it” (Walsh 153). This allowed Hitler to appear as a man for his country. The weakness of his opponents also allowed him to prosper. The Weimar government was unable to deal with the depression that swept through Germany, and the Nazi Party’s constant criticisms of the Weimar Republicans poor control caused many to look to Hitler to provide an unwavering government. Moreover, the economic and social crises rampant at the time, allowed Hitler to be successful. Political instability frustrated the populace as they wanted a steady government. The desire to rid of the Treaty of Versailles was also a common consensus among the people as it would Germany to become a flourishing nation once again. However, I believe that the strengths of the Nazi Party were the most dominant factor that allowed Hitler to rise to power–achieving the title as Chancellor—in January 1933. Essay The Nazi Party 's Influence On Germany The Nazi Party’s Influence on Germany Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party, Deutschland. The culmination of these 3 produced an extremely powerful nation otherwise known as the Third Reich. A small party called the “Nationalists Socialist Germans Workers Party” was the successor to the “Germans Worker Party” and founded its values on the focus on patriotism which was a strong belief and support of indigenous people, as well as the “cleansing” of the population and Hitler at the time was in the German army… Essay The Nazi Party, And Hitler 's New Laws or country; if that point is reached, or conducting a systematic way of reaching that point, it is called ultranationalism, an extreme form of nationalism. The image depicts Nazi soldiers posting a sign on a Jewish store, indicating “Germans! Defend Yourselves! Don’t Buy In Jewish Shops!”. The image portrays the rule of the Nazi in Germany, and the early effects of the Holocaust, and Hitler’s new laws. The law that is represented in that image portrays the Nuremberg Laws, that deprived the common rights… Essay Hitler 's Influence On The Nazi Party the 1920’s Germany was in deep crisis from the harsh consequences of the Treaty of Versailles that had lead to hyperinflation and masses of Germans not losing trust in their politicians. The country was in need of a leader, who was trustworthy and would give all their time to putting Germany back on the map. Adolf Hitler soon rose to the challenge to become Chancellor and quoted that he had ‘the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice’ which, in time, won over the votes for the Nazi party, but could… Essay Hitler 's The Nazi Party The Nazi party not only used a positive representation of Hitler as strategic propaganda but also for German life. There is a Nazi propaganda poster that depicts, “an idealized image of family life and values” the poster has the letters NSDAP on it and says; “The NSDAP safeguards the Volksgemeinschaft, Comrades, if you need any advice or help, Turn to your local party organizations” (Sax 245). This photo is the Nazi party’s attempt to make their followers and non-followers feel like they can be trusted… Essay Hitler 's Power Of The Nazi Party organization Adolf Hitler created to protect the Nazi Party from potential dangers at assemblies, but later began to disrupt rival parties’ meetings and to intimidate voters, Nazi opponents, and Jews in the streets. They were known as the Brownshirts because from the founding in 1921, the organization utilized brown shirts as their uniforms, as they were easily obtainable. The founding itself was controversial, as the Treaty of Versailles banned military organizations. By the time Hitler came into power… Essay Hitler 's Anti Semitism And The Nazi Party Hitler’s anti-Semitism took root in the Nazi party and contributed to their policies and attacks against the Jews. It is clear within his writings in Mein Kampf, that Hitler believed that he would be fighting for a just cause and protecting the world from the Jewry. Hitler stated “I believe myself to be acting in the sense of the Almighty creator: by defending myself against the Jew I fight for the Lord’s work.” This fight against the Jew became part of Nazi ideology and was embraced by the German… The youth were the one way that Hitler could affect most of the population of Germany’s beliefs. The only future of the Nazis was the German youth. This idea was introduced by Hitler and the government. The German kids were seen to be so susceptible to Hitler’s beliefs. The children were basically brainwashed by Hitler. At first, the Hitler Youth Movement was just a small bud, but it grew larger and larger very quickly. In the early 20’s the Nazi party instituted a youth movement led by Kurt Gruber… Essay Hitler 's And The Nazi Party Between 1928 and 1932, the nazi party went from a minimal 12 seats in the Reichstag to an alarming 230. This enlarging growth of Hitler’s power is due to several factors including his bad childhood, anti-semitism and the Treaty of Versailles. Throughout Adolf Hitler’s childhood, he experiences many dreadful events such as the death of his beloved mother, not being accepted into Vienna’s Academy of Art and his bleeding lung ailment. Hitler’s mother, Klara Hitler died on December 21, 1907 from advanced… Essay Hitler 's Youth And The Nazi Party Adolf Hitler said “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” Hitler indoctrinated youth to build up Germany he believed that the German youth was the key to success. By using the German youth he had more power of what they would become in the future. Although Hitler may have provided many opportunities for Germany’s youth, Hitler youth played a major role in promoting Hitler’s evil agenda because the youth was brainwashed to believe that they were the superior race by doing so they got a… Essay Hitler And Stalin 's Influence On Nazi Control times, Hitler and Stalin also utilized secret police to enforce their rule, but in a more radical way against citizens of their own countries, not just slaves. After Hitler became chancellor in 1933, he was extremely cautious of uprisings. While the Nazi party agreed with creating a perfect state by cleansing the state of Jews, not all people approved of the idea. Therefore, Hitler created the Gestapo, a secret police force that helped solidify Nazi control by identifying and arresting anti-Nazi agents…	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1159
__label__cc	0.730907	0.269093	Golden Princess © Jean-Philippe Boulet/Wiki/CC BY 3.0 + GNU Free Sister ships of Cruise line: Alaska, Caribbean & Bermuda, Hawaii & North Pacific, Mexico & Panama Canal, Other offers, South America, South Pacific Departure Port: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Los Angeles, CA, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Seattle, WA, Valparaiso, Chile, Vancouver, BC, Canada Tonnage: Caribbean & Bermuda, North Europe & Baltic, Transatlantic Copenhagen, Denmark, Dover, England, Tampa, Florida, USA Asia, Australia & New Zealand, South Pacific Auckland, New Zealand, Fremantle, Australia, Kobe, Japan, Singapore, Singapore, Sydney, Australia, Tianjin, China, Yokohama, Japan Singapore, Singapore, Tianjin, China Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Caribbean & Bermuda, Hawaii & North Pacific, Mediterranean & West Europe, North Europe & Baltic, Other offers, South Pacific, Transatlantic Auckland, New Zealand, Barcelona, Spain, Civitavecchia, Italy, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Fremantle, Australia, Istanbul, Turkey, Los Angeles, CA, Melbourne, Australia, Piraeus, Greece, Singapore, Singapore, Southampton, England, Sydney, Australia Alaska, Hawaii & North Pacific, Mexico & Panama Canal Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA, Vancouver, BC, Canada Canada & New England, Caribbean & Bermuda, Mediterranean & West Europe, North Europe & Baltic, Transatlantic Cape Liberty, NJ, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Houston, TX, New York, NY, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Southampton, England Anchorage, AK, San Francisco, CA, Vancouver, BC, Canada Alaska, Hawaii & North Pacific, Mexico & Panama Canal, Other offers Anchorage, AK, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Los Angeles, CA, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Valparaiso, Chile, Vancouver, BC, Canada First voyage Golden Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship with Princess Cruises that entered service in 2001. She is the sister ship of Grand Princess and Star Princess. She measures 109,000 gross tons and carries 2,600 passengers (double occupancy) plus 1,100 crew members. From 2009 to September 2015, she primarily operated on the Hawaii, and the West Coast of the United States routes. Golden was constructed in Italy by Fincantieri and is Bermudan flagged. Golden Princess was one of... Read more Cruiseline: Capacity (DO): 118 ft (36 m) First voyage: Decks: Golden Princess was one of the first major cruise ships to sail to Antarctic waters in 2006. She was dry docked in Victoria from mid-April to early-May 2009, in order to refurbish the entire ship. She was also drydocked in 2012 and again in 2015, where major refurbishments and addition of several new amenities took place. The facilities on Golden Princess include a nine hole mini golf course, several pools, a spa, a gym and a poolside theatre. The ship's main theater located at the forward of the ship seats approximately 1,000. Areas of operation Prior to 2016, the Golden Princess sailed from Alaska in the northern summer months. Before moving to South America for the southern summer season and to Alaska for the northern summer season, she would reposition to Los Angeles, California sailing short cruises to the West Coast and/or a single 28-night cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti. For the seasons that she did not sail to South America, she would do round-trip sailings to Hawaii from Los Angeles. Starting with the 2015-16 season, she sailed Australia cruises from Melbourne for the southern summer months. In the northern summer season starting in 2016, she began to sail roundtrip cruises from China, based out of Tianjin. In 2017, the Golden Princess was based in Australia year-round, filling the gap with the departure of the Dawn Princess. However, in 2018, the Golden Princess returned to Alaska during the northern summer months. Golden Princess will be based in Melbourne again in the 2019 summer season. In October 2020 Princess Cruises will transfer Golden Princess to P&O Australia, who will rename her Pacific Adventure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Golden_Princess Attractions on Golden Princess Select ratingGive it 1/10Give it 2/10Give it 3/10Give it 4/10Give it 5/10Give it 6/10Give it 7/10Give it 8/10Give it 9/10Give it 10/10Cancel rating Our medical center is primarily intended to provide acute care for illness and accidents that may occur while on vacation and are not intended to provide long term care for patients with chronic il... The best way to get the information about shore excursions and to book your best one is just to ask us! Meridian Bay Meridian Bay offers you the ideal gifts to create a lasting memory of your cruise. We offer a wide selection of sunglasses, scarves, hats and handbags, from well-known brands such as Calvin Klein, ... Special area for those who just can't live without their jobs. The words flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness are well-known for you. Our aerobics provided by professional instructors help you to improve all these elements of fitness wit... Bernini Dining Room Savor multi-course gourmet meals every day in an elegant dining room! From tantalizing appetizers to premium chops, delectable seafood to signature pastas and decadent desserts, the award-winning c... Future Cruise Sales You know for sure how you will spend your next unforgettable trip… Please, come in! Casino Cashier Cage Platinum Studio Platinum studio is about capturing a person's inner essence in a photograph so that others can truly see what makes a person unique. Centered on the art of simplicity, the Platinum Studio experien... Deck Chess Set Great opportunity to test your gaming skills in confrontation with new friends, but be careful you can meet real champions on our board!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1165
__label__wiki	0.91461	0.91461	Home Cruis'news Ford opens information center near Michigan Central Station Ford says it is marking the one-year anniversary of announcing its purchase of the historic Michigan Central Station by opening a new information center in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. The new information center is located in The Factory at 1907 Michigan Avenue, which is where Ford has more than 200 autonomous and electric vehicle business and strategy employees located. The Dearborn-based automaker says this new information center will provide the public access to information regarding the project, construction updates, mobility pilot programs in the area and community initiatives. “We’ve learned a lot from local residents and businesses over the past year as we further our plans for the development of Michigan Central Station,” Mary Culler, development director in Detroit for Ford, said in a Wednesday, June 19 news release. “Our new information center will provide an ongoing opportunity to share our plans, celebrate the culture of the area and continue learning from the community. “In this historic neighborhood, we’re building a place where people can solve real-world challenges and create future opportunities together.” Ford adds that the windows of the information center on Michigan Avenue will transform into a “revolving gallery” featuring work from local artists throughout the year. The information center will have hours from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays; and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Starting the week of June 24, Ford says these hours will shift to 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday while keeping the noon to 4 p.m. hours on Saturdays. In an update last month, Ford hosted a walkthrough of the once-doomed train station in Detroit and said it had removed 227,000 gallons of water from the basement and 3,600 cubic yards of debris. Michigan Central Station was abandoned back in 1988, and sustained damage from what has been described as a repetitive “rain and freeze-thaw effect.” This caused existing cracks in the exterior masonry to expand at a quicker rate over the years. The automaker plans to spend about $740 million on renovations to buildings that will soon make up its Corktown campus, after purchasing the long-vacant Michigan Central Station for $90 million back in June. Once the renovations, restoration and constriction is complete, Ford will move about 2,500 employees into the once-doomed train station by 2022. It touts that Michigan Central Station will serve as the future “centerpiece” for its new Detroit-based campus. As for work already taking place in Detroit and the Corktown neighborhood, the automaker announced the launch of a self-driving fleet with Argo AI recently. On top of this, Ford says it launched a ride-hailing pilot program — GoRide — back in December and expanded its Spin electric scooters to Corktown. Later this month, the automaker says it will launch the “City: One Challenge” that will aim to crowdsource residents, businesses and community groups for pilot solutions and improving mobility. “For more than a century, Ford and Detroit have worked together to turn local ideas, inspiration and hard work into programs that improve people’s lives,” Culler added in the release. “We look forward to our continued partnership with the community and others as we develop Michigan Central Station into a place that inspires innovation and creativity.” Article and photos courtesy of M Live Previous articleBarn Show Photo Recap Next articleMickey York All Over the Place featuring Cristy Lee! Barn Show Photo Recap The Mustang turns 55! AMSOIL to Present Pfaff Designs St. Ignace Cup at 44th Annual St. Ignace Car Show June 27th-30th	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1166
__label__wiki	0.949037	0.949037	Recovered patient’s tab to break with… Recovered patient’s tab to break with conservator: $120,766 Matthew Keenan, left, talks with physical therapist, Diane Percy, at the offices of Balance Point in Colorado Springs Wednesday afternoon. Keenan went to a Boulder area hospital in 2001 for Pancreatitis and because of a medical mistake at the hospital, went into a coma for 2 1/2 months which left him with only partial use of his body. By David Olinger \| dolinger@denverpost.com \| PUBLISHED: October 27, 2011 at 3:43 pm \| UPDATED: May 2, 2016 at 9:50 pm Matthew Keenan, the man who fought for independence from his conservator after recovering from a coma, has been ordered to pay a portion of Colorado State Bank and Trust’s court costs. But the $120,766 awarded to the bank is less than half of what it spent in a four-year legal battle with Keenan. The bank had sought more than $300,000 to recoup the costs of contesting Keenan’s petition for independence, costs of an appeal, costs of litigating issues remanded by a Colorado appeals court and interest on its unpaid bills. In February, the appeals court ruled the bank had reasonably contested Keenan’s efforts to terminate its services as his conservator but left open the question of whether the bank could collect $217,466 in legal fees and costs. That issue was remanded to the Boulder district court. In Boulder, the bank also requested $40,457 for appeal costs, $20,585 for litigating the remanded issue and $30,928 in interest. Boulder District Court Judge Thom as Mulvahill ruled Oct. 21 that the bank “employed reasonable litigation tactics” because Keenan “was effectively challenging every transaction and expenditure involving the conservatorship” besides petitioning for independence. But the judge rejected the bank’s requests for interest and payment and reduced the payment on its fees. In doing so, the judge found that Keenan should not have to pay for the bank’s “protracted and expensive handling” of his requests for a new manual wheelchair and portable wheelchair charger. Mulvahill also deducted a portion of the bank’s expenses, ruling that the bank “is in a relatively better financial position to bear the attorney fees and costs resulting from the litigation than is Keenan.” The Denver Post reported on Keenan’s case last year. After a hospital error plunged him into respiratory arrest and cut off oxygen to his brain, he miraculously recovered from a 10-week coma. But then Keenan wound up in court, litigating for independence from his guardian and from the bank appointed to conserve the money he gained in a settlement. Keenan said Thursday that, overall, he was disappointed with the judge’s decision. But he noted a new state law prohibits guardians and conservators, with limited exceptions, from attempting to oppose or interfere with termination proceedings. Spencer Crona, a lawyer representing Colorado Bank and Trust, said “the bank was overwhelmingly vindicated in this case.” Crona said he was “not happy at the reduction in the fees” but that he understands the judge’s reasons for doing so. David Olinger David Olinger is an investigative journalist who has worked for newspapers in New Hampshire, Florida and Colorado since 1976. In 18 years in Colorado, he has covered a variety of subjects for The Denver Post. Follow David Olinger @dollingerdp CDOT names contractor that will rebuild collapsed stretch of U.S. 36 in Westminster A contractor has been chosen to rebuild the recently failed, crumbling section of U.S. 36 in Westminster. Suspect in downtown Denver shooting death is arrested in Oklahoma A suspect in a shooting death in downtown Denver, an incident in which there were at least five shooting victims, has been arrested. The House easily killed a maverick Democrat's effort Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for his recent racial insults against lawmakers of color.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1170
__label__wiki	0.540975	0.540975	DestinWins.com Chairman's Club Members Visit Destin History of Destin Destin Beach Web Cams Average Weather Statistics Beach Safety & Guidelines Boating, Fishing & Water Sports Live, Work & Relocate Non-Partisan Voter Information Furniture & Home Accessories Signature Chamber Events Destin Pickleball Tournament Bayou, Bay & Beach Paddle at the Porch Weekly Wave Email Newsletter Destin in the Press Destin Forward 6th Annual Stake & Burger Dinner Name: 6th Annual Stake & Burger Dinner Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CDT Website: http://www.emeraldcoastbgc.org Sports fans, save the date for the 6th Annual Stake & Burger Dinner featuring keynote speaker, Derrick Brooks, on Thursday, Aug. 29 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Hilton Sandestin. The annual fundraising event will offer community members an opportunity to learn more about the impact of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast along with an inspirational message from the NFL Hall of Famer. “We are thrilled to have Derrick Brooks coming back to the Gulf Coast to support our organization” Shervin Rassa, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, said. “Derrick is not only an accomplished athlete, he’s also an amazing philanthropist dedicated to changing the lives of young people.” Pensacola native, Derrick Brooks was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft, where he remained to play his entire 14 season professional career. He is widely considered one of the best linebackers in NFL history. An 11-time Pro Bowl selection and nine-time All-Pro, Brooks was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002, and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Prior to playing for the Buccaneers, Brooks attended Florida State University, where he was a member of the 1993 Seminoles National Championship team. Recognized as often for his hard work in the community as he is for his hard hits on the football field, Brooks has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including being a co-recipient of the 2000 Walter Payton/NFL Man of the Year award, the 2003 Bart Starr Award, the 2004 Bryon “Whizzer” White Award, and the 2008 JB Award through the NFL Players Association, all of which recognize an NFL player for their commitment to the communities in which they live. “I am grateful and delighted to be a part of the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Stake & Burger fundraiser,” keynote speaker, Derrick Brooks, said. “It's extra special because I started my charity foundation working with the kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs in Tampa Bay. Now, I get the opportunity to speak and support the organization in the Panhandle, my hometown area. I encourage all to come support us and hear what God will lay on my heart to share with everyone." General admission tickets are $125 and include admission to the event, a build-your-own-burger bar, a drink ticket, and the opportunity to win and bid on incredible silent auction items. VIP tickets are $175, and include an opportunity to mingle with one of the best linebackers in NFL History during a VIP reception prior to the event. All proceeds from this event will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, which works in our community to promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence through its programs focused on academic success, healthy lifestyles, good character and citizenship. Sponsorships for this event are available. To learn how your business can be involved, please contact info@thehivecreativeconsulting.com. To learn more about this event or to purchase tickets, visit www.emeraldcoastbgc.org. Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa 4000 Sandestin Blvd. S. Miramar Beach, FL 32550 Business Directory Events Calendar Job Postings Contact Us Weather Entertainment/ Attractions Fishing/ Water Sports Destin Chamber 4484 Legendary Drive, Suite A, Destin, FL 32541 mail@destinchamber.com © Copyright 2019 Destin Chamber. All Rights Reserved. Site provided by GrowthZone - powered by ChamberMaster software.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1171
__label__wiki	0.659917	0.659917	HOUSE OF THE DAY: Take A Walk Through Elon Musk's New $17 Million Bel Air Estate Julie Zeveloff Jan. 3, 2013, 11:03 AM Billionaire PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk is putting down roots in Bel Air, paying $17 million for an estate that he had previously been renting. The 20,000-square-foot home was built in 1990 and recently remodeled, according to Curbed LA. It has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and was last listed for $19.95 million in April. We think these listing photos from Redfin are a little dated, considering Musk has been living in the home for the past few years with his five young sons, and there are a lot of expensive looking trinkets laying around. But even so, they give a cool glimpse into the life of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. Musk's estate overlooks the Bel Air Country Club. It's in one of the wealthiest and most prestigious neighborhoods in the country. It sits on 1.66 acres of land, plenty of space for a backyard, tennis court, and swimming pool. Let's go inside. The home was built in 1990. But it was renovated more recently. Even so, some of the paint colors and moldings make it look pretty ancient. There are a ton of spaces for entertaining. Here's one room with a modern touch — we dig the decor here. Another shot of the room. The kitchen is expansive — a necessity when you have five sons. So is the round kitchen table. There's also some in-home entertainment: a private movie theater. This room has a cool chandelier. The master suite is enormous. Check out the marble tub. There are separate his- and hers-bathrooms in the master suite. Spare beds? The home has a separate kids' wing. We think this bedroom has probably had a makeover by now. The in-home gym is nice, though we're not sure Musk has time to use it. The pool is lovely. So is the tennis court, which can be lit at night. Look who's selling across the pond. John D Wood & Co. Billionaire Heiress Tamara Ecclestone Is Selling Her London Pad For $32 Million > More: Features Elon Musk House Of The Day	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1172
__label__wiki	0.536745	0.536745	Ross Spencer Garsson Email rgarsson@dickinson-wright.com Ross Spencer Garsson has more than 25 years of experience practicing intellectual property and technology law. Ross focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, patent prosecution and intellectual property portfolio management in a variety of technology areas, including chemical, nanotechnology, medical devices, semiconductor and computer technologies. Ross has litigated numerous intellectual property disputes in state and federal district courts, in the U.S. Court of Appeals, and at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Ross has worked closely with nanotechnologists to procure and license their technologies. His work with the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University and the Alan G. MacDiarmid Nanotech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas has resulted in some of the most important patents for producing and manipulating carbon nanotubes. B.S., Chemical Engineering, 1986 cum laude B.A., Mathematics, 1986 The University of Texas School of Law J.D., 1992 with honors Intellectual Property Intellectual Property Litigation Business Technology Patents Trademarks Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Patent Law, 2014-present Alliance Spine Clean Energy Labs Entox Solutions eyeQ Insights Metric Medical (Dr. Casey Fox) SynaptaGenX (Dr. Kenneth Blum) Prominent Assignments Represented Bain Consulting (now Growtheorem Consulting) in a breach of contract suit regarding health care payment technologies. A unanimous $6.4 million dollar jury verdict was received for Bain Consulting finding that defendants had inexcusably breached and tortuously interfered with agreements of Bain Consulting. The owner and president of defendants was also held jointly and severally liable by successfuly piercing the corporate veil. Bain Consulting LLC v. Talon Transaction Technologies Inc., Cause No. DC-13-03502-A, 14th Judicial District Court (Dallas County, Tex.). Represented BioTras in a patent inventorship and misappropriation trade secret dispute regarding a model used for anatomic training and injection practice (such as for spinal anesthesia and/or lubar epidural steroid injections). BioTras, LLC v. Clear Ballistics, LLC, Civil Case No. 3:16-CV-00566K (N.D. Tex.). Represented Quicken Loans in defense of a patent infringement suit involving systems and methods for personalized mass marketing. Phoenix Licensing, L.L.C v. Quicken Loans Inc.; Civil Case No. 2:15-CV-1377 (E.D. Tex.). Represented Xitronix in defense of a patent infringement claim pertaining to devices for nondestructively evaluating semiconductor chips. A jury verdict was returned holding that Xitronix did not infringe the patents-in-suit, including a jury verdict that all of the asserted patent claims were invalid. During post-trial motions, the Court upheld the jury verdict in its entirety and found additional legal reasons why all patent claims were invalid. KLA-Tencor Corporation v. Xitronix Corporation; Civil Case No. 08-CA-723SS (W.D. Tex.). Represented Save Mart Supermarkets in defense of a patent infringement suit involving a gas rewards program. CodePro Innovations v. Shell Oil Company; Civil Case No. 4:12-CV-02351 (S.D. Tex.). Represented ATX Innovation (Tabbedout) in defense of a patent infringement suit directed to Tabbedout’s mobile device application for opening a tab and paying a bill at a restaurant/bar. Ameranth, Inc. v. ATX Innovation, Inc.; Civil Case No. 12-CV-1656 JLS (NLS). Represented defendant AFC Industries in defense of a patent infringement claim pertaining to its computer monitor display systems. Mass Engineered Design, Inc. v. 9X Media, Inc.; Civil Case No. 2:09-CV-358-JRG (E.D. Tex.). Represented Drivve US in defense of a patent infringement claim involving Drivve’s software product for office workplace productivity solutions. Content Extraction and Transmission LLC v. Drivve US LLC; Civil Case No. 12-CV-1188 (ALC)(GWG) (S.D.N.Y.). Represented Hudson Products in defense of copyright infringement/breach of contract claim for software product. Visibility Corp. v. Hudson Products Corp.; Civil Case No. 1:10-cv-12279-RGS (D. Mass.). Represented Jelly Belly Candy Co. in defense of a patent infringement claim pertaining to an internet organizer for accessing graphically and topically based information. Geotag, Inc. v. The Western Union Corp.; Civil Case No. 2:10-CV-00574 (E.D. Tex.). Represented BancVue in a patent infringement suit involving BancVue’s patented technology for methods and systems for operating a reward program through a financial institution over a network. Case settled. Edo Interactive, Inc. v. BancVue, Ltd., Civil Case No. 3:11-CV-00341 (M.D. Tenn.). Represented ATI in an appeal of a patent infringement lawsuit pertaining to side impact sensors used in automobiles. Automotive Technologies Int’l, Inc. v. Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation; No. 2011-1061 (Federal Circuit). Represented DataCom Design in a misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract action against prior employee and his new employer. DataCom Design Group LLC v. Jaffe Holden, Inc., Cause No. 10-0618 (207th Judicial District Court of Hays County, Texas). Represented BME in defense of a patent infringement suit regarding memory shaped surgical staples and devices for closing such staples. InteliFUSE Inc. v. BioMedical Enterprises, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:05-CV-8093 (S.D.N.Y.). Represented Microsoft in patent infringement suits in which both parties had claims of patent infringement against one another. Claims included infringement by Alcatel of Microsoft’s patented network gateway technology. Alcatel USA Sourcing Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation, Civil Action Nos. 6:06-CV-499 and 6:06-CV-500 (E.D. Tex.). Represented Microsoft in defense of a patent infringement suit regarding video compression. Jury verdict for Microsoft was obtained (no infringement). Multimedia Patent Trust v. Microsoft Corporation, Civil Action No. 06-CV-0684 (S.D. Cal.). Represented 3N Global in defense of patent infringement claims directed to its alert notification system. Zimmer v. 3N Global Inc.; Civil Case No. 1:08-CV-342 (S.D. Ohio). Represented 3M and 3M Innovative Properties in a case against Sony involving infringement of 3M’s patented lithium-ion battery cathode technology. Certain Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same (337-TA-600) (United States Int’l Trade Commission). Represented plaintiff DDB in a patent infringement suit involving DDB’s patented technology for broadcasting live events to remote locations and producing a computer simulation of the events at those locations. DDB Technologies, L.L.C. v. MLB Advanced Media L.P., Civil Action No. 1-04-CA-352- LY (W.D. Tex.). Founding Master, Barbara Jordan Inns of Court Austin Bar Association Advisory Board Member, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Houston) Board of Directors, Austin Gifted School (Ace Academy) Judge, The University of Texas, I2P Global and National Competitions Judge, Rice Alliance Competitions (Business, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology) Steering Committee, Austin Rice Alliance U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Mr. Garsson is a frequent writer and lecturer on topics related to intellectual property matters. Recent articles and events/panels include: Panelist, Legal Issues in Advancing Technology Panel Discussion, Austin Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, February 20, 2018, Austin, TX Featured, “Greenberg Traurig Prevails in $6.4 Million Health Care Billing Technology Case,” Texas Lawbook, April 2015 Anderson, K.L., Garsson, R.S., Windham, D.R., “Keys To IP Collaborations With Universities: Part 3,” Law360, March 9, 2015 Pham, C.H., Garsson, R.S., “What nanotech inventors need to know about trade secrets and the prior user rights defense,” Nanotechnology Reviews, December 2014 Anderson, K.L., Garsson, R.S., Windham, D.R., “Keys To IP Collaborations With Universities: Part 2,” Law360, October 20, 2014 Anderson, K.L., Garsson, R.S., Windham, D.R., “Keys To IP Collaborations With Universities: Part 1,” Law360, July 21, 2014 Bell, C.L., Garsson, R.S., Tomsen, J., “Recent Developments in Nanotechnology Standards,” Nanotechnology Law & Business, Vol. 10.2, Winter 2013, 105-113 Panelist, “The Post-Election Political Landscape and What It Means for Your Business: From Regulatory Compliance to Tech Innovation,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Austin, TX Garsson, R.S., Pham, C.H., “Strategies for Post-Grant Reviews and Other Proceedings for Challenging an Issued Patent,” Nanotechnology Reviews, 2012, Vol. 1, Issue 6, 541-544 Pham, C.H., Garsson, R.S., “Accelerated Examination, Prioritized Examination, and Other Petitions to Make Special: What’s Right for You?” Nanotechnology Reviews, 2012, Vol. 1, Issue 5, 455-459 Garsson, R.S., Pham, C.H., “Uncle Sam Wants You to Be the First-Inventor-To-File for Nanotechnology Inventions,” Nanotechnology Reviews, 2012, Vol. 1, Issue 4, 383-386 Speaker, “From IP to Company Formation: Commercializing Innovation,” Tech Connect World,Nanotech 2012 Conference, Santa Clara, CA Panelist, “IP Litigation vs. Ordinary Cases,” Austin Bench Bar Conference - Litigation Topics, San Antonio, TX Speaker, “Patents in the University Setting - Proper Incubation of Knowledge Products,” Rice University Speaker, “Licensing Intellectual Property” and “Intellectual Property Primer,” Rice Alliance Technology Entrepreneurship Workshops August 15, 2018 In the News 171 Dickinson Wright Attorneys Ranked in Best Lawyers in America® 2019 February 20, 2018 - February 21, 2018 Seminars Austin’s Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Business & Law CLE event on February 20, 2018 February 8, 2018 In the News Dickinson Wright Austin Recognized Among the Best in Law November 02, 2017 - November 03, 2017 Conferences 22nd Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute on November 2-3, 2017 August 15, 2016 In the News 166 Dickinson Wright Attorneys Ranked Among America's Best July 25, 2016 In the News Dickinson Wright Opens First Office in Texas	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1177
__label__wiki	0.871804	0.871804	Lasers are helping the Afghan Air Force strike the Taliban By: Daniel Cebul May 24, 2018 Laser-guided bombs deployed from A-29 Super Tucanos, flying here over White Sands Missile Range, N.M., enable more precise targeting. (Ethan D. Wagner/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON ― The Afghan Air Force has introduced laser-guided precision munitions to its arsenal. Since the May 22 induction, the number of laser-guided bombs has steadily increased as Afghan forces continue to target the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. “The recent addition of laser-guided bomb strike capability is huge for the Afghan Air Force,” said Lt. Col. Justin Williams, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisor Squadron commander. “Afghanistan did not have it last fighting season, and we are already seeing the crippling psychological effect it is having on the enemies of Afghanistan this season.” Shifting security responsibility to local forces, Williams emphasized all the bombs are being built by Afghans. “The bombs are built by Afghan ammunitions specialists and loaded onto Afghan planes by Afghan maintainers,” he said. “This is one example of how the Afghan Air Force is assuming ownership across the board.” In terms of limiting civilian casualties, laser-guided bombs deployed from the Afghan Air Force’s A-29 Super Tucanos do enable more precise targeting. “The Taliban like to hide in towns and places where civilians are,” said an Afghan Air Force A-29 pilot. “The laser-guided bomb lets me strike those places without hurting the local people.” The A-29 is a turboprop plane designed to operate in austere combat environments and land without needing a paved runway. But are these advanced munitions actually making a difference in a war that has raged for nearly 17 years? According to data from U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the U.S. Air Force dropped more bombs in the first quarter of 2018 than was used in the same time period in 2011, often considered the height of the war. The command also says 1,186 munitions were expended by aircraft in January, February and March of this year. In 2011, during those same months, the military documented 1,083 weapons released. Those weapons releases are from both manned and unmanned aircraft. As of May 11, 2018, Afghan A-29s have supported roughly 30 Afghan ground missions using precision munitions, dropping more than 50 laser-guided bombs on Taliban targets. Despite an approximate 85 percent reduction to U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan since 2011, Army Col. Lisa Garcia, a spokeswoman for U.S. efforts in the country, insists that U.S. advisers “are seeing successes on the battlefield as a result of tactical air coordinators.” Since switching to the laser-guided bomb, nearly 96 percent of strikes have been successful and have led to a 30 percent increase in ground force commanders’ desired effects on the battlefield, according to the U.S. Air Force About Daniel Cebul Daniel Cebul is an editorial fellow and general assignments writer for Defense News, C4ISRNET, Fifth Domain and Federal Times.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1182
__label__wiki	0.824564	0.824564	South Yorkshire Police investigate attack on teenage girl captured on video and shared on social media YouTube star demolishes this huge breakfast at Doncaster cafe - and then washes it down with a ten scoop ice cream Business boss helping make a clean path to work for youngsters at Doncaster school Businesswoman Sam Kerley is a woman on a mission. Monday, 10 September, 2018, 09:53 Solutions4Cleaning, Sandall Stones Road, Kirk Sandall. Sam Kerley. Writer: Scott Merrylees Sam, who has built up one of Doncaster's biggest cleaning companies over a period of nearly 20 years, has signed up to help fix up work experience for youngsters with special needs. Her own firm, Solutions4Cleaning, has already pledged to provide places. But managing director Sam is on the hunt for other businesses to follow suit by taking one of the pupils with conditions such as autism who study at Pennine View School, Old Road, Conisbrough, Solutions4Cleaning, Sandall Stones Road, Kirk Sandall. L-R Gabby Miska, Zoe Simms, Ewelina Kolodziejczk, Sandra Rafferty and Vicki Mason.Picture Scott Merrylees Arranging the work experience is part of her new role as the school's enterprise advisor, and one which is she is relishing. She has already worked in schools, going in as a volunteer with the Donacster Chamber Skills Academy, in which businessmen and women speak to pupils about the world of work. She said: "I've just started doing work with Pennine View, and the task is to find work experience for year 10 and 11 students. Thy're youngsters with special needs, and my feeling is there is a place for everyone, and as businesses it is our place to find places that are the right fit for people, special needs or not. "As employers, that is what we do every day. in terms of fitting the right person for a particular cleaning job. I think it is just the same with work experience, finding the right places to fit everyone, for pupils and employers in the world of work. It is about talent matching." Sam runs a business which has grown from a firm set up by her husband, Kevin, as a sole trader, into a major operation which now employs around 250 people. Both she and Kevin originally worked in hotels. The firm Kevin set up now operates from a unit on the Sandall Stones industrial estate on Kirk Sandall. Kevin now runs a coaching and mentoring business, with the cleaning firm now run by Sam. A large part of the job of her and her staff is finding the right person for each job. She finds some people are better at large scale jobs such as warehouses, while some are more suited to detailed cleans in environments such as health centres. Thanks, {{email}} has been added to our newsletter. If this is the first time you have subscribed to emails from JPIMedia Ltd, the publishers of Doncaster Free Press, please check your inbox to verify your email address. She thinks finding the fight person for these roles is just the same as finding the right work experience for a youngster with special needs, and is appealing for other firms to come forward and offer placements. More than 80 per cent of Solutions4Cleaning's workforce is female, and most are part time, typically working 10 to 20 hours a week. All are on fixed contracts, and Sam does not approve of zero hours contracts so does not use them. "I don't agree with zero hours contracts," she said. "People need assurance and if you look after them, then they are going to look after our customers better, and that's what we want. "I think it is better for the customer if the cleaners and staff build up a relationship with their customers, because that means that the cleaners are happier and the customers are happier. The cleaners know they will be in an environment they're comfortable with." The typical profiles of her employees are young students who do not want to work late night at pubs, mature women looking for extra money, and parents fitting in with childcare arrangements. "Our biggest focus is not finding staff, it is placing staff, finding something that's suitable for them, and I think that's something our team is very good at," she said. "It is talent matching." The range of work is very broad. Clients range from racecourses to building sites, and from pubs to health spas. They have even valeted ambulances. Sam's philosophy is that if somewhere has four walls and a roof, she can usually find a cleaning solution, although she brings in specialists for work at height. But she is under no illusions about the level of priority at which most people place cleaning in their thoughts. "People don't think cleaning is sexy," she said. "I've long joked about it, and find that it is not a priority on someone's list until they find it's not being done properly. But as soon as people realise that it is becoming an issue or it's affecting health and safety, they suddenly want it sorting out straight away, and have a real sense of urgency. We have had to adopt a quick turn around for a lot of jobs when people have wanted us to start within a week." More from Doncaster Free Press	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1187
__label__wiki	0.674007	0.674007	Friendlies Team The Jarvis family, a name that remains very well known in Harpenden and has been behind the highly successful property development and construction company of the same name, founded the Elliswick Lawn Tennis Club in 1924. Three lawn courts were created. A County Champion The club steadily grew and produced several county players, before the war, including Henry Hasseldine the county champion in 1939. In the 30s members paid annual subscriptions of £3 each and the club had a fund for court improvement of ... The 2nd World War Tennis was suspended and no club championships were played for 9 years. After the war membership began to grow and reached 100 as juniors were admitted for the first time. The First Clubhouse and More Courts In an important period of development the number of courts was increased by two to five and a small timber pavilion, partly built by members, was erected although without electricity or toilets. Property Acquired In 1956 Jarvis had offered to sell the ground to the club for £4000. Initially members believed this was simply beyond their reach but by 1958, thanks to a grant from the government, the club succeeded in buying the property. Flushing Toilets! The pavilion was extended by the addition of changing rooms, which included, for the first time, flushing toilets and mains drainage. This pavilion lasted until it was demolished to make way for the construction of the current clubhouse. The End of Lawn Courts In the 80s the club was having major problems maintaining the four grass courts. Faced with considerable resistance, the brave decision was made to convert them to the “Astroturf” which we are still playing on today. The decision has ... Mayor Opens New Clubhouse While the courts were regularly being improved the old timber clubhouse began to deteriorate rapidly. In 1993 the members accepted the committee’s proposals to completely rebuild the clubhouse, which was officially opened by the Mayor ... Floodlights At Long Last After an epic battle with the planning authorities spanning 20 years the big “switch on” finally took place for two courts on 29th September 2011. Summer Results © Copyright by Elliswick Lawn Tennis Club	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1188
__label__cc	0.724934	0.275066	Photos: The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (previously the Archive of American Television). The event also launched the Television Academy Foundation’s public programs. National treasure Norman Lear discusses his life in television and his perspective on the medium, followed by a lively exchange with Netflix's One Day at A Time co-creators and executive producers Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, and stars Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Todd Grinnell, Isabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz and Stephen Tobolowsky. Norman Lear and friend at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Invision/AP /photo/398861?galleryid=398821 Todd Grinnell onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Stephen Tobolowsky onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Ted Sarandos and Norman Lear arrive at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. The cast and producers of One Day at a Time onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Marcel Ruiz and Isabella Gomez onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Rita Moreno onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Rita Moreno arrives at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Paul Krekorian, Television Academy CFO and EVP of Business Operations Heather Cochran, and Illyanne Kichaven at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Rita Moreno and Charlotte Rae at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. The cast and creators of One Day at a Time at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Norman Lear onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Marcel Ruiz, Isabella Gomez, and Mike Royce onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Moderator Michael Schneider onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Norman Lear, Charlotte Rae, and Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Television Academy Foundation board member Kevin Hamburger and guests at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Norman Lear and Gloria Calderon Kellett onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Gloria Calderon Kellett, Justina Machado, and Rita Moreno onstage at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Gloria Calderon Kellett arrives at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Isabella Gomez and Todd Grinnell at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Dick Robertson and Norman Lear at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. Charlotte Rae arrives at The Power of TV: A Conversation with Norman Lear and One Day at a Time, presented by the Television Academy Foundation and Netflix in celebration of the Foundation's 20th Anniversary of THE INTERVIEWS: An Oral History Project, on Monday, June 19, 2017 in the Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California. of Photos Writing LGBTQ+ Love & Romance on... Staying at the Table: A Conversation... yvette-nicole-brown-900x600.jpg Young Writers to Watch Showcase 2018 All-Academy Holiday Mixer Veterans Day: Television and the... Who Taught Them Everything They Know? Penning Pennsylvania Avenue 2017 Faculty Seminar The Power of TV - American Masters:... 2017 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1189
__label__wiki	0.676828	0.676828	Efficiency & Environment, Finance & Markets, Policy Huge VAT increase for solar and battery storage products Supplies of coal as a fuel for homes will continue to receive a reduced 5% VAT rate Legislation to increase VAT rates for solar and battery storage technologies for households was put forward yesterday, despite strong opposition from industry. Under the new law proposed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the VAT for new solar and storage products will increase from 5% to 20% from October. The legislation is put forward on the same day MPs debate the adoption of the net zero carbon emissions target for 2050. In contrast, coal sold as a fuel for domestic use will continue to receive a reduce VAT rate of 5%. The Renewable Energy Association (REA) believes the HMRC proposals should be reconsidered, particularly considering public support for renewable energy was recently announced to have reached an all-time high of 84%. It adds the VAT hike could push back the decision of households and businesses to install solar with battery storage “by years”. Dr Nina Skorupska, Chief Executive of the Renewable Energy Association said: “The VAT proposals will create a barrier to British homes and businesses who are seeking to take action on climate change and reduce their bills by installing solar with battery storage. “With 84% of the public supporting renewable energy and a further 80% concerned about climate change, the government should be doing all it can to install these technologies rather than enacting barriers.” battery storage HMRC solar panels UK VAT	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1191
__label__wiki	0.914271	0.914271	Another Ohio State player on Bulls’ wish list? Paul Ladewski A look at possible second-round draft picks for the Chicago Bulls. Even though there were no marquee names at the Berto Center on Tuesday morning, the workout of eight second-round draft hopefuls was no trivial pursuit for a Bulls team that would like to add backcourt depth at either the 49th or 51st overall pick. After all, it was just three years ago when they pulled out a plum named Chris Duhon in Round 2. The list of candidates included Adam Haluska and Ron Lewis, a pair of Big Ten products who believe they did well enough to merit serious consideration. Although frequently overshadowed by teammates Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden last season, Lewis was especially effective late in games for an Ohio State team that advanced to the NCAA championship game. “Even when you’re the second or third guy, you have to show them that you can play and shoot and take on some of the roles that they may have you do,” said Lewis, one of as many as four Buckeyes who could be chosen in the June 28 draft. “I’ll do the same things that I did at Ohio State: penetrate, pass, get to the basket, hit open shots and play good defense.” As a senior, Lewis averaged 12.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. His passion for defense no doubt caught the attention of Bulls head coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Paxson, among others. At the predraft camp in Orlando, Lewis was measured at 6-foot-2¾, 194 pounds. “At Ohio State, I had to guard against one of the main players every game,” said Lewis, who has also worked out for the New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings. “It’s something that I got used to and something that I like.” While Haluska is a work in progress as a defender and ballhandler, his athleticism and perimeter game could translate well at the next level. As a senior at Iowa, Haluska averaged 20.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. “My biggest asset is my ability to hit open shots,” he said. “My shot has gotten a lot better out there. It’s a big adjustment when you leave college, because it’s such an easy shot there. To step out a few more feet, it’s more of a challenge. In the last couple months, I really worked on it.” Like Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, Haluska is an Iowa native. “The Bulls are kind of Iowa’s team,” Haluska said. “I watched almost all their games and followed Kirk Hinrich and guys like that.” Haluska has worked out for the Knicks, Nets, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics. More Bulls coverage can be found online at www.dailysouthtown.com/sports.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1193
__label__cc	0.539105	0.460895	Charlize Theron on Turning 40: I'm "So Happy" Not to Be in My 20s Anymore by Marc Malkin \| Tue., Jul. 21, 2015 6:00 AM Charlize Theron Dishes on Turning 40! Charlize Theron isn't planning on a big party to celebrate turning 40. In fact, she's not even thinking that much about the milestone, which happens on Aug. 7. "People are so concerned for me," the Oscar winner told me while promoting her new drama, Dark Places. "I'm so happy to be in my 40s and not be in my 20s and worried if I fit into my skinny jeans or whether I will be able to get into that club," she said. As we know, Theron is a working single mom. Her son Jackson is 3. NEWS: Was Charlize Theron's Mad Max: Fury Road one of the most dangerous movie ever made? Mandalay Pictures "It's so nice to just be in love with your couch and make cheesy sandwiches and just enjoy life," she said. "It's been great." In Dark Places, Theron stars as Libby, a woman who is trying to find out what really happened when her mother and two sisters were killed when she was a young girl. Libby begins an impromptu investigation when she gets introduced to the Kill Club, a fan club of sorts for eople who are obsessed with solving horrendous crimes. Dark Places is adapted from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn's bestselling novel of the same name. The movie is available now on DirecTV and will be in theaters on Aug. 7. For more of my chat with Theron, make sure to come back to E! Online later today and tune into E! News tonight at 7 and 11. PHOTOS: See your fave stars celebrating their birthday TAGS/ Charlize Theron , Birthdays , Marc Malkin , Top Stories , Exclusives	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1195
__label__wiki	0.884893	0.884893	T 2037/11 () of 1.10.2015 G01J 3/46 A METHOD FOR DIGITAL COLOR GRADING OF GEMS AND COMMUNICATION THEREOF Sevdermish, Menahem European Patent Convention 1973 Art 52(2)(c) European Patent Convention 1973 Art 52(2)(d) Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal Art 13(1) European Patent Convention 1973 Art 54(1) Inventive step - mixture of technical and non-technical features Inventive step - main request (no) Novelty - first auxiliary request (no) Late-filed auxiliary requests - admitted (no) Late-filed auxiliary requests - fresh case (second to fifth auxiliary request) I. The applicant (appellant) appealed against the decision of the examining division refusing European patent application No. 02806572.0 under Article 97(2) EPC. The examining division found that the application based on the claims according to the sole main request did not fulfil the requirements of Articles 123(2), 84, 54 and 56 EPC. II. The board issued a communication pursuant to Article 15(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA), annexed to a summons to oral proceedings dated 3 March 2015. In this communication the board inter alia expressed the preliminary view that the subject-matter of claims 1 and 14 of the sole request then on file lacked inventive step over the disclosure of document D2 in combination with common general knowledge. In this context, the board noted that the claimed apparatus seemed to differ from the apparatus of D2 in the feature "the displayed image is an image representing the physical aspect of the gem having the selected shape, hue, tone and saturation". However, in the board's preliminary opinion, no inventive step could be based on this feature because it seemed to fall within the field of presentations of information mentioned in Article 52(2)(d) EPC. III. With a letter of reply dated 31 August 2015, the appellant filed claims according to a new main request and new first and second auxiliary requests, all replacing the previous sole request. The appellant submitted observations on the issues raised in the board's communication. IV. Oral proceedings were held on 1 October 2015. In the course of the oral proceedings the appellant withdrew the main and first auxiliary requests, both filed with the letter dated 31 August 2015. The appellant requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and that a patent be granted on the basis of the claims according to the main request filed at the oral proceedings of 1 October 2015, or one of the first auxiliary request filed at the oral proceedings of 1 October 2015, second auxiliary request filed with the letter dated 31 August 2015, and third to fifth auxiliary requests filed at the oral proceedings of 1 October 2015. V. The present decision refers to the following document: D2: WO 01/91011. VI. Claims of the requests (i) Independent claim 1 according to the main request reads as follows: "1. Apparatus for color grading a particular gem, comprising a data processor (DP) including a database (DB), and a display screen (30), characterized in that: said database (DB) has stored therein data representing a number of different gem shapes, various hues for each gem shape, various tones for each hue, and various saturations for each hue; said screen (30) includes a field (22) for displaying an image of a selected gem shape having a selected hue of a selected tone and a selected saturation; and said data processor (DP) is programmed: a) to enable a user to select from said database (DB) a gem shape matching the shape of the gem to be graded; b) to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a particular hue, a particular tone, and a particular saturation matching the hue, tone and saturation of the gem to be graded; c) to display in said field (22) of the screen (30) an image of a gem, said image combining the shape, hue, tone and saturation selected, said image being for comparison; the selected image thereby identifying the gem shape, the hue, the tone, and the saturation selected for display in said field (22) of the screen (30) as matching the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, to thereby enable the user to produce a precise description of the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, and to communicate said precise description to another person." (ii) Independent claim 1 according to the first auxiliary request reads as follows: said data processor (DP) is programmed: a) to enable a user to select from said database (DB) a gem shape matching the shape of the gem to be graded; b) to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a particular hue, a particular tone, and a particular saturation matching the hue, tone and saturation of the gem to be graded; said image combining the shape, hue, tone and saturation selected, said image being for comparison; the selected image thereby identifying the gem shape, the hue, the tone, and the saturation selected for display in said field (22) of the screen (30) as matching the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, to thereby enable the user to produce a precise description of the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, said precise description comprising an alphanumeric code to communicate to another person." (iii) Independent claim 1 according to the second auxiliary request differs from claim 1 of the first auxiliary request essentially in that feature (b) reads as follows: "b) to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a particular hue, a particular tone, and a particular saturation best matching the hue, tone and saturation of the gem to be graded, wherein the image shape has a plurality of facets, color being pasted into a facet from that of a real corresponding facet;" (iv) Independent claim 1 according to the third auxiliary request differs from claim 1 of the main request in that features (a) and (b) read as follows: "a) to provide a user with a sequence of shapes to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a gem shape matching the shape of the gem to be graded; b) to provide the user with a sequence of hues to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a particular hue matching the hue of the gem to be graded, and then to provide a sequence of tone/saturation combinations to enable said user to select a particular tone/saturation combination matching the tone and saturation of the gem to be graded;" (v) Independent claim 1 according to the fourth auxiliary request reads as follows: said data processor (DP) is programmed: a) to provide a user with a series of shapes to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a gem shape matching the shape of the gem to be graded; b) to provide the user with a sequence of hues to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a particular hue matching the hue of the gem to be graded, and then providing a sequence of tone/saturation combinations to enable said user to select a particular tone/saturation combination matching the tone and saturation of the gem to be graded; said image combining the shape, hue, tone and saturation selected, said image being for comparison; the selected image thereby identifying the gem shape, the hue, the tone, and the saturation selected for display in said field (22) of the screen (30) as matching the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, to thereby enable the user to produce a precise description of the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the particular gem being graded, said precise description comprising an alphanumeric code to communicate said shape, hue tone and saturation combination to another person." (vi) Independent claim 1 according to the fifth auxiliary request differs from claim 1 of the fourth auxiliary request essentially in that feature (a) reads as follows: "a) to provide a user with a series of shapes to enable the user to select from said database (DB) a gem shape matching the shape of the gem to be graded, wherein the image shape has a plurality of facets, color being pasted into a facet from that of a real corresponding facet;". 1. Main request - Inventive step The subject-matter of claim 1 is obvious in view of the disclosure of D2 (Article 56 EPC 1973) for the following reasons. 1.1 D2, with respect to figure 2, discloses an apparatus for color grading a particular gem comprising a data processor (155) including a database (page 5, lines 20-22) and a display screen (150) wherein: - the database has stored therein data representing a number of gem shapes, hues, tones and saturations (see D2, figures 10C and 10I, showing screen fields with pull-down menus (275, 284, 285, 286) which provide data options representing different gem shapes, hues (286), tones (284) and saturations (285)), - the screen (250) includes a field for displaying an image of a selected gem shape having a selected hue of a selected tone and a selected saturation (see D2, figure 9, showing such a screen; see also D2, page 22, lines 27 to 30; the respective feature of the present claim does not require the effective display of an image of a gem, but merely a screen which is suitable for displaying the image of a gem), - the data processor is programmed (a) to enable a user to select from said database a gem shape best matching the shape of the gem to be graded (see D2, figure 10D, showing a bead-faceted shape; page 23, lines 4-14), (b) to enable a user to select from said database a particular hue, tone and saturation matching the hue, tone and saturation of the gem to be graded (see D2, figure 10I; page 23, lines 15-16), (c) to display in the screen field a text describing a gem, the description of the gem combining the shape, hue, tone and saturation selected and being for comparison (see D2, figure 14, showing an exemplary report (325), the report including a complete description of the gem and being suitable for comparison, for instance, with any other gem; page 24, lines 25-26), the selected description thereby identifying the gem shape, the hue, the tone and the saturation selected for display in said field of the screen as matching the shape, the hue, the tone and the saturation of the particular gem being graded (this feature is effectively a repetition of features a) and b) above), to enable the user to produce a precise description of the shape, hue, tone saturation of the gem being graded and to communicate said precise description to another person (see D2, figure 14; page 24, lines 25-26 disclosing the generation of a report (325), including a complete description (326) of the item, which clearly can be transmitted to another person). 1.2 It follows that the claimed apparatus differs from the apparatus of D2 in that: - a representation of the gem is displayed on the screen in the form of an image showing the visual aspect of the gem having the selected shape, hue, tone and saturation, whereas in D2 a representation of the gem is displayed in the form of the corresponding alphanumeric description. 1.3 The only distinguishing feature of claim 1 does not contribute to an inventive step. 1.3.1 The only distinguishing feature of claim 1 is about what a user sees on the display screen: either a photo-like image, according to claim 1, or a descriptive text, according to D2, of the same gem. While it is true that the user will not see the same item on the screen, this distinction, based on the content of the information per se, does not imply that the distinguishing feature has a technical effect. Actually, whether a gem having a particular shape, hue, tone and saturation is represented by a photo-like image or a descriptive text is merely a choice between two different ways of presenting information and, according to Article 52(2)(d) and (3) EPC, the presentation of information as such is not regarded as an invention within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC. 1.3.2 The effect of this difference in representation is that the the gem is displayed as an image which can be visually compared with a gem to be graded by a user's eyes and brain, without involving other specific expertise about describing gems. However, this is not a technical effect, because it occurs only in the brain of a user comparing gem features. Moreover, the outcome of this comparison, i.e. the degree of similarity between the displayed image and the real gem, is not processed further other than by the user's brain. 1.3.3 Technical aspects with respect to the claimed apparatus, relating to the question about how the image representation is provided, need not to be considered, since D2 discloses a database and a screen which generally are suitable for displaying an image of a gem. Technical considerations going beyond those related to general means for representing an image are not necessary. Claim 1 does not specify any special technical requirements for the database or the screen either. 1.3.4 Since the distinguishing feature does not have a technical effect, the person skilled in the art, starting from D2 as closest prior art, is not confronted with a technical problem. 1.3.5 Claim 1 specifies additional attributes (i) and (ii) of the displayed image: (i) "the image combines the shape, hue, tone and saturation selected", (ii) "the image is for comparison". Image attribute (i) attempts to define more precisely the exact content of the displayed image: all four gem parameters are displayed in a single image. However, displaying an image with all four parameters of a gem, instead of one to three gem parameters, does not require further technical means. Following decision T 1567/05, Reasons, point 3.5, which states that "Article 52(2)(d) EPC does not distinguish between different kinds of information" and that "therefore, the presentation (as such) of any information must be regarded as a non-invention", the present board is of the view that image attribute (i) does not provide a technical effect and, hence, cannot contribute to an inventive step of the claimed subject-matter. Image attribute (ii) refers to the comparison between the gem to be graded and the displayed image which, in the present application, is a visual comparison, executed entirely by the user's eyes and brain without involving any technical means. Therefore, image attribute (ii) has no technical character. In fact, it addresses a purely mental act, mentioned in Article 52(2)(c) EPC and which is also not regarded as an invention within the meaning of Article 52(1) EPC (Article 52(3) EPC). 1.3.6 It follows that the only distinguishing feature of present claim 1 is not a technical feature within the meaning of Rule 43(1) EPC and that, therefore, it cannot support the presence of an inventive step (cf. Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office, 7th edition 2013, I.A.2.6 and I.D.9.1; T 1567/05, Reasons, point 3.4; T 641/00, Headnote, point 1). 1.4 Counter-arguments from the appellant Differences between claim 1 and the prior art 1.4.1 The appellant referred to figures 7 to 9 of the present application and argued that these figures showed a plurality of images of different gem shapes, hues, tones and saturations, whereas D2, figure 10I, merely disclosed a menu list for each of these parameters. As a consequence, in D2 the user himself had to provide information about the gem's shape, hue, tone and saturation to the computer. In the present invention, however, this information about the gem was already present on the computer screen: the user simply selected the image which matched the shape and colour appearance of the gem to be graded. The present invention had the effect of facilitating the colour grading of a gem by breaking down the gem parameters into a plurality of characteristics, namely shape, hue, tone and saturation, creating an objective reference for each characteristic, namely the set of images stored in the database and displayed on the screen, and enabling the user to visually compare an image of the gem to be graded with an image of the gem selected in the database. Concerning the last step about the visual comparison, the appellant specifically referred to figure 2, in combination with page 18, lines 1 to 4, of the application showing the computer screen displaying an image of the real gem to be graded (field C1) and an image of the final result of the user's selection of an image from the database (field C2). The appellant concluded that the whole concept of the present invention was different from that of D2 and that, therefore, the claimed apparatus differed from the apparatus of D2 by the combination of features (a) to (c) of claim 1. The board, as explained in point 1.11.1 above, cannot see how features (a) to (c) of claim 1 differ from the prior art, except that in claim 1 the displayed item on the screen is an image representing the visual aspect of the gem having the selected shape, hue, tone and saturation. In particular, the board cannot identify any reference to an image of a gem in features (a) and (b) of claim 1. Therefore, selecting gem parameters from a menu list, as disclosed in D2, falls under the wording of features (a) and (b) of claim 1. Claim 1 also does not define the display of an image of the real gem to be graded. Therefore, in the board's view, there is no difference with the prior art which is based on such a displayed image of the gem to be graded. Finally, whether the whole concept of the present invention, which is allegedly different from that of D2, has an effect on the inventive step of claim 1 must be assessed on the basis of the wording of claim 1. The board, however, does not find any features in claim 1 which would correspond to the allegedly different concept of the present invention. Non-obviousness of the claimed apparatus 1.4.2 The appellant argued that the invention fulfilled a "long felt need" and achieved "commercial success", which represented evidence of the non-obviousness of the claimed apparatus. In the opinion of the board, these aspects, under certain circumstances, may be pointers to non-obviousness of the claimed subject-matter, but only as secondary indicia and in support of other more fundamental, technical reasons pointing to the presence of inventive step. This is not the case with present claim 1. Technical character of a computer program 1.4.3 The appellant argued that the "image of a gem" comprised a combination of technical aspects, namely the shape, hue, tone and saturation of the gem, the database and the data processor for processing the gem parameters. The appellant specifically referred to page 4, lines 21 to 23, disclosing that "the user's choice in the comparison process, as well as the final best visual match, are translated by the computer to an alphanumeric code representing hue-tone-saturation-cut variables". He also referred to page 15, line 2, disclosing a "gradual build-up of a gem image in field 22 on screen 30". The board does not find this argument convincing, because a computer program has a technical character, within the meaning of Rule 43(1) EPC, only if it causes, when it is run on the computer, a "further technical effect" which goes beyond the "normal" physical interactions between program (software) and computer (hardware)" (cf. Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office, 7th edition 2013, I.A.2.4.3; T 1173/97, Headnote). The passages in the present application, referred to by the appellant, disclose details about how the computer is to be programmed to display a coloured image of a gem. Even though these details may be regarded as comprising technical considerations, they do not amount to "further technical effects" going beyond the effect of electrical currents circulating in the computer disclosed in document D2. The effect of the present programming of the data processor is simply that the user sees a coloured image of a gem on a computer screen. However, as explained in point 1.31.3 above, this effect amounts to the presentation of information which does not involve a technical effect on which inventive step can be based. 2. First auxiliary request - Novelty The subject-matter of claim 1 is not new in view of the disclosure of D2 (Article 54(1) EPC 1973) for the following reasons. 2.1 Present claim 1 differs from claim 1 of the main request only in that - the feature "to display in said field (22) of the screen (30) an image of a gem" has been deleted and in that - the feature "said precise description comprising an alphanumeric code" has been added. As explained in point 1.11.1 above, D2 discloses all features of claim 1 of the main request, except the feature of displaying an image of the gem. By deleting this feature from present claim 1, the only feature which distinguishes claim 1 of the main request from D2 has been deleted. As also explained in point 1.11.1 above, D2 discloses the generation of a report including a complete description of the item. The text used in the report of D2 is an assembly of alphanumeric codes falling under the wording of the added feature. Therefore, the claimed subject-matter is anticipated by D2. 2.2 The appellant did not add any further arguments to those already given with respect to the main request. 3. Second auxiliary request - Admissibility The board, exercising its discretion under Article 13 RPBA, did not admit the second auxiliary request into the appeal proceedings for the following reasons. 3.1 According to Article 13(1) RPBA, any amendment to a party's case after it has filed its grounds of appeal may be admitted and considered at the board's discretion, which is to be exercised in view of inter alia the complexity of the new subject-matter, the current state of the proceedings and the need for procedural economy. According to Article 13(3) RPBA, amendments sought to be made after oral proceedings have been arranged shall not be admitted if they raise issues which the board cannot reasonably be expected to deal with without adjournment of the oral proceedings. 3.2 With the letter of reply dated 31 August 2015 to the board's communication under Article 15(1) RPBA, the appellant filed the amended claims according to the second auxiliary request. Hence, they constitute an amendment to the appellant's case within the meaning of Article 13(1) RPBA and consequently may be admitted and considered at the board's discretion. 3.3 Claim 1 has been amended inter alia by adding the feature "wherein the image shape has a plurality of facets, color being pasted into a facet from that of a real corresponding facet". The appellant argued that the basis for the amended feature was to be found in the description as originally filed, on page 10, line 14 to page 11, line 6, in combination with figures 1A, 1B and 2, and that in view of these passages and especially the figures the skilled person had no problem understanding the meaning of the amended feature. The appellant submitted that the amended claims were filed in response to the board's communication. 3.4 In the board's view, however, the amendment raises complex new issues for the reasons as follows: - The passage on page 10, line 14 to page 11, line 6, cited by the appellant as disclosing the added feature is part of the description of a more general method for designing the database of the claimed apparatus (see page 9, line 1 to page 11, line 6). Therefore, it would have been necessary to assess whether the extraction of a single feature from the general context of the design method has a sufficient basis in the original application (Article 123(2) EPC). - The added feature raises issues of clarity (Article 84 EPC 1973), such as to which "image shape" the amended feature refers. A further question which arises is how the selection of a matching colour by the user in feature (b) of claim 1 and the subsequent colour pasting are related to one another, especially in view of the fact that, according to the description, the pasting of colour into facets is part of the creation of the initial database which is unrelated to the selection of a matching colour by the user. Finally, it is obscure from the wording of the claim to which facet the terms "real" and "corresponding" in the expression "a real corresponding facet" refer. It follows that admitting the request would have led to a debate on these new issues at a late stage in the proceedings, which would also not have been conducive to procedural economy. 3.5 It is also to be noted that the added feature has not been claimed before in any of the independent or dependent claims but is allegedly taken from the description as originally filed. Under these circumstances the board cannot automatically assume that this feature was searched. Thus, if the board were to admit the amended claims into the proceedings, it might be unable to assess inventive step because an additional search for relevant prior art would first have to be performed. The board might have to remit the case to the department of first instance for further prosecution (including a search). This course of action would be contrary to procedural economy and the provisions of Article 13(3) RPBA. 3.6 The board sees no justification for filing the second auxiliary request only with the letter dated 31 August 2015 replying to the board's communication under Article 15(1) RPBA. The board does not consider the amendment introduced in claim 1 of the second auxiliary request as a response to the board's objections raised in its communication. In particular, the board's objection of lack of novelty and/or inventive step in view of D2 was not raised for the first time in appeal proceedings, since a similar objection had already been raised in the appealed decision. Hence, the second auxiliary request could have been filed at an earlier stage of the appeal proceedings. 4. Third auxiliary request - Admissibility The board, exercising its discretion under Article 13 RPBA, did not admit the third auxiliary request into the appeal proceedings for the following reasons. 4.1 The appellant filed the amended claims according to the third auxiliary request at the oral proceedings before the board. Hence, they constitute an amendment to the appellant's case within the meaning of Article 13(1) RPBA and consequently may be admitted and considered at the board's discretion. 4.2 Compared with claim 1 of the main request, claim 1 of the third auxiliary request has been amended essentially by adding the feature that the user is provided with a sequence of shapes, hues and tone/saturation combinations. The appellant's representative argued that filing the third auxiliary request only during oral proceedings was due to difficulties in contacting the appellant or its Israeli patent attorney during the period just before the oral proceedings. The appellant cited several figures and a long list of text passages in the original application documents, which allegedly formed the general basis for the amendments, for instance, page 14, steps B and C; page 11, line 9 to page 12, line 24; page 4, lines 7 to 8; etc. The appellant further argued, in favour of inventive step of the claimed subject-matter, that in D2 the user had to choose the gem parameters from separate menu lists, whereas in claim 1 as amended the user was presented with a sequence of shapes, hues and tone/saturation combinations which facilitated the selection of the best matching shape, hue, tone and saturation. 4.3 The board, however, does not find these arguments convincing for the following reasons: - The third auxiliary request was filed only during oral proceedings before the board. The board sees no justification for such a late filing. The summons to oral proceedings, together with the board's communication, were issued on 3 March 2015. After that, the board issued no further communication dealing with the merits of the case. Therefore, the board takes the view that the third auxiliary request could have at least been filed in reaction to the summons and thus before the oral proceedings. In view of the fact that the summons were notified to the appellant's representative at least six months before the date for oral proceedings, any difficulties the representative faced in contacting the appellant or the Israeli patent attorney during the period just before the oral proceedings do not justify the late filing. - In view of the long list of passages cited by the appellant as a basis for the amended feature, assessing whether the amendment had a sufficient basis in the original application documents would have required an examination that would have been too complex to be carried out at the oral proceedings. For instance, it would have been necessary to assess whether there was a basis in the original application documents for the expressions "sequence of shapes" and "tone/saturation combination", since such a basis is not immediately apparent in the application documents. An adjournment of the oral proceedings would thus have been necessary. However, this course of action would have been contrary to procedural economy and the provisions of Article 13(3) RPBA. - The basis for the amendment of claim 1 is allegedly to be found in the description as originally filed. But this feature has not been claimed before in any independent or dependent claim. Under these circumstances the board cannot automatically assume that this feature was searched. Thus, if the board were to admit the amended claims into the proceedings, it might be unable to assess inventive step, even in the light of the appellant's arguments in support of the existence of inventive step, because an additional search for relevant prior art would first have to be performed. The board might have to remit the case to the department of first instance for further prosecution (including a search). This course of action would be contrary to procedural economy and the provisions of Article 13(3) RPBA. 5. Fourth and fifth auxiliary requests - Admissibility Claim 1 of the fourth and fifth auxiliary requests, filed during oral proceedings, comprises the same feature as claim 1 of the third auxiliary request, i.e. the user is provided with a sequence, or series, of shapes, hues and tone/saturation combinations. The appellant did not add any further arguments to those already given with respect to the third auxiliary request. The board, exercising its discretion under Article 13 RPBA, did not admit the fourth and fifth auxiliary requests into the proceedings for the reasons given in point 4.34.3 above. 6. In view of the above the board sees no reason to set aside the contested decision. The appeal is dismissed.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1197
__label__wiki	0.771795	0.771795	T 0472/14 () of 21.3.2017 C08F 4/22 C08F 10/02 CHROMIUM-BASED CATALYSTS TOTAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY FELUY Ineos Europe AG European Patent Convention Art 100(b) European Patent Convention Art 111(1) Grounds for opposition - insufficiency of disclosure (no) Appeal decision - remittal to the department of first instance (yes) I. The appeal by the patent proprietor lies against the decision of the opposition division revoking European patent No. EP 2 004 704. II. Claims 1 and 2 of the granted patent read as follows: "1. A process for preparing a supported chromium-based catalyst for the production of polyethylene comprising the steps of a) providing a silica-based support having a specific surface area of at least 250 m(2)/g and of less than 400 m(2)/g and comprising a chromium compound deposited thereon, the ratio of the specific surface area of the support to chromium content being at least 50000 m(2)/g Cr; b) dehydrating the product of step a); c) titanating the product of step b) in an atmosphere of dry and inert gas containing at least one vaporised titanium compound of the general formula selected from RnTi(OR')m and (RO)nTi(OR')m, wherein R and R' are the same or different hydrocarbyl groups containing from 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and wherein n is 0 to 3, m is 1 to 4 and m+n equals 4, to form a titanated chromium-based catalyst having a ratio of specific surface area of the support to titanium content of the titanated catalyst ranging from 5000 to 20000 m(2)/g Ti." "2. A process according to claim 1 , wherein if the support has a specific surface area of from at least 250 m(2)/g and of less than 380 m(2)/g, the ratio of specific surface area of the support to titanium content of the titanated catalyst ranges from 5000 to 20000 m(2)/g Ti, and if the support has specific surface area of from at least 380 m(2)/g and of less than 400 m(2)/g, the ratio of specific surface area of the support to titanium content of the titanated catalyst ranges from 5000 to 8000 m(2)/g Ti." III. An opposition against the patent was filed, in which the revocation of the patent was requested on the grounds of Article 100(a) EPC (lack of novelty and lack of an inventive step) and Article 100(b) EPC. IV. The following documents were inter alia cited in the opposition division's decision: E2: ASTM D3663-03 (Reapproved 2008) E4: National Institute of Standards & Technology, Report of Investigation, Surface Area Reference Materials 8570-8572, 1994 In that decision, which was based on the granted patent as sole request, the opposition division held that the sole information contained in the patent in suit regarding the determination of the specific surface area of the silica-based support mentioned in granted claim 1 was that it was to be measured by N2 adsorption using the well-known BET technique. Considering that it had been shown with documents E2 to E4 that different results in terms of specific surface areas were obtained depending on the technique and the sample preparation used and that other determination methods than E2 or E3 could also be used, the opposition division concluded that the requirements of sufficiency of disclosure were not satisfied. V. The patent proprietor (appellant) appealed the above decision and requested that the decision of the opposition division be set aside and the patent be maintained as granted or, alternatively, that the case be remitted to the opposition division for deciding on novelty and inventive step. Also the following document was filed: E8: E.F. Vansant et al., Characterisation and chemical modification of the silica surface, Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, Vol. 93, 1995 VI. With its rejoinder to the statement of grounds of appeal the opponent (respondent) requested that the appeal be dismissed. VII. With letter of 20 February 2017 the appellant submitted E9: Aerosil® 300, product information, Evonik VIII. In a first letter dated 21 February 2017 the respondent mentioned documents ASTM D1993-03(2008) (E11) and ISO 9277 (E12), whereby E11 had already been cited in the notice of opposition. In a second letter dated 21 February 2017 the respondent submitted E10: Aerosil for High Solid-Coatings, Technical information 1197, Evonik IX. During the oral proceedings before the Board, which were held on 21 March 2017 in the presence of both parties, the appellant requested that the decision of the opposition division be set aside and that the case be remitted to the first instance for further prosecution. X. The appellant's arguments, insofar as relevant to the present decision, may be summarised as follows: Granted patent - Sufficiency of disclosure (a) The patent in suit taught that the specific surface area was to be measured by N2 adsorption using the BET technique, which was well-known in the art as shown by E2, E3 and E8. Although it was shown in E4 that the methods of determination by BET of E2 and E3 gave different results, those differences were not significant in view of the repeatability and reproducibility reported therein. Besides, the method of E3 was based on an approximation of the BET equation and therefore led to less accurate results than E2. Also, considering that the patent taught to use the BET technique, E3 would not be considered since it obviously deviated from the BET equation. In both E2 and E3 the sample pretreatment included a preheating at 300°C, which was known from e.g. E8 to be appropriate. In that respect, it was further derivable from the wording of granted claim 1 and from the patent in suit that the surface area referred to was that of the support without chromium. (b) There was no evidence on file that the BET determination method according to E2 led to wrong results in terms of specific surface area. Nor had any evidence been submitted showing that other standard methods would provide different results, in particular as compared to E2. (c) E4 merely showed a slight discrepancy between the specific surface area determined with E2 or E3. It had not been shown that the ambiguity was such that it amounted to a lack of sufficiency. (d) All the skilled person had to do to carry out the process step a) according to granted claim 1 was to use a silica-based support having a specific surface area within the range indicated therein. Such supports were described in the patent in suit and commercially available as shown by e.g. E9 and E10. (e) The respondent's arguments were related to the definition of the claim boundaries, which was at most an issue of clarity but not of sufficiency of disclosure as derivable from several decisions cited in Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, 8th edition, 2016. In particular it had not been shown that the alleged ambiguity was such as to amount to a lack of sufficiency of disclosure. Remittal (f) Considering that the issues of novelty and inventive step had not been addressed at all by the first instance, the case should be remitted to the first instance for further prosecution. XI. The respondent's arguments, insofar as relevant to the present decision, may be summarised as follows: (a) The patent in suit contained no indication which determination method of the surface area should be used and further failed to provide any information regarding the sample pretreatment and/or measurement technique. It was derivable from the reproducibility data contained in E2 that that method itself was not very accurate and led to discrepancies of e.g. 23 % between different laboratories. It was indicated in E4 that the temperature used for the sample pretreatment was crucial. In that respect, the pretreatment taught in E2 was not mandatorily conducted at 300°C and it was indicated in E2 that any results should be given together with the pretreatment temperature, which was not done in the patent in suit. Contrary to the appellant's conclusion, E8 did not show that the specific surface area was constant when pre-treated at high temperatures. Besides, considering that E8 was related to three specific materials and did not explicitly specify which method of determination was used, no conclusion could be drawn therefrom. (b) E4 exemplified the discrepancy in surface area measurements obtained when using two well-defined measurement methods according to E2 and E3. The fact that E3 was an approximation method of E2 was not relevant since the BET technique itself was based on approximations as clearly indicated in E8. (c) Other methods than the one of E2, such as those of E11 or E12, could also be used and lead to similar conclusions. As shown by E10 the specific surface area of the product according to E9 was for instance determined using E12. In that respect, in E11 the temperature used for the sample pretreatment was 160°C, which was much lower than the temperature of 300°C which could be used in E2. Therefore, both methods could not lead to similar results. It was to be noted that E11 was specifically directed to precipitated silica, which was a suitable support according to the patent in suit. This further showed that different standards and/or different pretreatment temperatures should be used depending on the nature of the support, which was not indicated in the patent in suit. (d) The loadings of chromium and titanium indicated in granted claim 1 were defined in relation to the specific surface area. Therefore, the lack of accuracy of the determination of the specific surface area further led to the same deficiency for those features. Consequently it was neither possible to determine the scope of granted claim 1 nor to know whether the claimed benefits of the surface area and loadings could be obtained. (e) It was not clear from the wording of granted claim 1 whether the relevant surface area was that of the catalyst comprising chromium on silica from step a) or that of the silica support per se. In that respect, the dehydrating step b) of granted claim 1 could imply that the surface area was determined in the presence of water, in which case no pre-treatment by heating was required. (f) In the absence of any indications related to specific commercial products having known specific surface area, the ambiguity in terms of specific surface area could in the present case not be removed by reworking the examples of the patent in suit. (g) In view of the above the information contained in the patent in suit did not allow to determine with accuracy the specific surface area parameter mentioned in granted claim 1, which was a crucial feature of the invention according to the patent in suit. The ambiguity was so severe that it amounted to a lack of sufficiency as held in several decisions cited in Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, 8th edition, 2016. (h) The deficiencies identified above were even more severe for granted claim 2, which contained narrower ranges of specific surface area. (i) The remittal of the case to the first instance was not objected to. XII. The appellant requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and the case be remitted to the opposition division for further prosecution. The respondent requested that the appeal be dismissed. 1. The objections of lack of sufficiency of disclosure raised by the respondent are directed to granted claims 1 and 2. 2. In order to meet the requirements of sufficient disclosure, an invention has to be disclosed in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by the skilled person, without undue burden, on the basis of the information provided in the patent specification, if needed in combination with the skilled person's common general knowledge. This means in the present case that the skilled person should be in particular able to carry out the process for preparing a supported chromium-based catalyst according to claims 1 and 2. 2.1 In that respect, the only point in dispute between the parties is whether or not the method of determination of the specific surface area mentioned in granted claims 1 and 2 is sufficiently disclosed. 2.2 The respondent argued that the patent in suit did not disclose any details for the method of determination of the specific surface area specified in claim 1 and, considering that BET methods were not sufficiently accurate and that different standard methods would lead to different results, one did not know the boundaries of the claims, which amounted to a lack of sufficient disclosure. 2.2.1 Although there are no specific details of the determination method of the specific surface area mentioned in claim 1, it is indicated in paragraph 23 of the patent in suit that it is measured "by N2 adsorption using the well-known BET technique". It was not contested by the respondent that the BET technique is a usual method for determining the specific surface area, as confirmed by E2, E3 and E8 (page 34, first sentence of section 2). 2.2.2 The respondent argued that the reproducibility of the BET method according to E2 was so poor that it amounted to a lack of sufficiency. However, it may be seen from the reproducibility values indicated in the Table on page 5 of E2 that the lowest reproducibility (95% reproducibility interval of 23%) is achieved for the sample with the smallest specific surface area (10.7 m(2)/g), whereby said value is significantly lower than the one specified in granted claim 1 for the support (250 to 400 m(2)/g). Those data further show that the reproducibility increases with increasing specific surface area to reach a 95% reproducibility interval of 4.1% for a sample having a specific surface area of 289 m(2)/g i.e. in the range according to granted claim 1. In the Board's view, the fact that those reproducibility data are disclosed in an accepted international standard method (ASTM) for determining the surface area of catalysts and catalyst carriers shows that such a variability is acceptable by the skilled person working in that technical field. Besides, in the range of specific surface area which is relevant for the subject-matter of granted claim 1, the 95% reproducibility interval is of 4.1%, which in relation to an experimental method is not held to constitute an inacceptable lack of accuracy as argued by the respondent. In particular it cannot be considered that the accuracy of the determination method leads to an ambiguity in terms of specific surface area which is such as to amount to a lack of sufficiency. 2.2.3 The respondent argued that the patent in suit also lacked sufficiency because it failed to disclose any details for the method of determination of the specific surface area specified in claim 1 and E4 showed that different standard methods such as E2 and E3 led to different results. a) Although E2 and E3 are two different ASTM standards for determining the specific surface area of catalysts and catalyst carriers (see titles), it is explicitly indicated in E3 that the multiple point BET method according to E2 is preferred to the single point determination method of E3 because the latter is based on an approximation of the BET equation. It is also indicated that the method of E3 is to be used when rapid specific surface area determinations are desired (sections 1.1, 1.2 and 11.1 of E3). That statement is confirmed by the data related to the precision of the methods indicated in section 12.2 of E2 and section 13 of E3, which show that the most accurate method is the one of E2. Therefore, on the basis of that information, the skilled person desiring to measure accurately the specific surface area of a support by the BET technique specified in paragraph 23 of the patent in suit, would consider E2 and not E3. Also, in view of the above, it is not surprising that it was found in E4 that the methods of E2 (based on a BET method) and E3 (based on an approximation of a BET method) led to somewhat different results. In that respect, it may be seen from the comparison of the data of the three materials studied in E4 that the difference in surface area is of maximum 5.5 % for materials having a surface area of 10.9, 158 and 291 m(2)/g (according to E2). Therefore, the variability between E2 and E3 is, in the Board's view, not so large that the skilled person would conclude that the methods of E2 and E3 lead to significantly different results. b) Regarding the sample pretreatment of the materials to be tested, it is correct that it is indicated in E4 (pages 1 and 2: paragraphs starting with "Caution:") that the sample pretreatment is critical and that the indications given therefor in E2 and E3 must be followed. In that respect it is indicated both in E2 (section 7.8) and E3 (sections 9.6 and 9.7) that the pretreatment should be carried out at 300 °C. Although it may be derived from "Note 3" of E2 (page 3, between sections 7.9 and 7.10) and "Note 2" of E3 (page 3, between sections 9.6 and 9.7) that lower temperatures may be used for materials which decompose at 300°C, the general teaching of E2 and E3 is that the pretreatment is usually carried out at 300°C. In that respect, the indication at section 11.2 of E2 that the pretreatment temperature should be indicated is understood as being relevant when the operator deviates from the usual temperature of 300°C. That conclusion is confirmed by the indication in E4 that a temperature of 300°C was used as taught in E2 and E3 (pages 1 and 2: paragraphs starting with "Caution:"). Therefore, when carrying out a specific surface area determination by BET technique according to either E2 or E3, the skilled person would perform a degassing (pretreatment) at 300 °C. For those reasons it cannot be concluded that it was shown that the sample pretreatment used in E2 and E3 is related to an issue of insufficiency of disclosure, as argued by the respondent. 2.2.4 In view of the above the respondent's objection based on E2 to E4 is not persuasive. 2.2.5 The respondent further argued that the skilled person could contemplate using different BET methods than the one of either E2 or E3 to determine the specific surface area of a support, e.g. E11 or E12 and that it was to be expected that different methods led to different results. However, there is no evidence on file that any of those other methods than E2/E3, in particular E11 or E12, effectively leads to significantly different results than E2. In that respect, the respondent's argumentation according to which the method of E11 required a sample pretreatment at only 160°C (as compared to 300°C in e.g. E2) was not contested by the appellant. However, there is, also in that regard, no evidence on file that the method of E11 effectively leads to different results in terms of specific surface area as compared to e.g. E2. There is also no evidence that the ambiguity in the determination method would be so severe that the skilled person would not be in a position to carry out the process according to granted claim 1. Therefore, that objection, which is not supported by facts, cannot be adhered to. 2.2.6 The respondent's objections addressed in above sections 2.2.2, 2.2.3 and 2.2.5 are all related to the issue whether the skilled person is in a position to determine unambiguously if he is working within or outside the scope of the claims. The question whether or not that issue effectively amounts to a lack of sufficiency or if it is an issue of clarity was the object of many decisions as indicated in Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, 8th edition, 2016, II.C.4.5, 5.6.5, 5.6.8 and 7.2, some of which have been relied upon by the parties during the oral proceedings before the Board. As indicated therein, an ambiguity of a parameter in the claims is not enough in itself to deny sufficiency of disclosure and the question whether said ambiguity leads to insufficiency of disclosure is to be decided on a case-by-case basis (see e.g. reference to T 2403/11 and T 608/07 on pages 338 and 359 in the Case Law, supra). Rather, with respect to sufficiency the relevant question is whether the patent in suit provides sufficient information which enables the skilled person when taking into account common general knowledge to reproduce the invention (see e.g. reference to T 466/05 on page 359 in the Case Law, supra). In the present case, it is concluded in view of the considerations given in above sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 that it was not shown that the skilled person would have any difficulty to identify silica-based supports having a suitable specific surface area in order to carry out the process of granted claim 1, whereby said specific surface area is determined according to any suitable BET method known in the art. Therefore the alleged ambiguity relied upon by the respondent was, in the present case, not shown to amount to a lack of sufficiency of disclosure. Rather, that issue could at most be related to a matter of clarity pursuant to Article 84 EPC, which however cannot be addressed at the present stage of the proceedings since the parameter in question is already present in the granted claims (see G 3/14, OJ EPO 2015, A102: catchword). 2.3 The question whether or not "the claimed benefits of the surface area and Cr/Ti loadings can be obtained", which was put forward by the respondent, is at most related to the question whether a technical effect is present over the whole scope of the claims, which in the absence of any effect mentioned in granted claim 1 is at most an issue of inventive step pursuant to Article 56 EPC rather than an issue of sufficiency of disclosure (G 2/03, OJ EPO 2004, 448: section 2.5.2 of the reasons). 2.4 The respondent also argued that it was not clear from the claims whether the "relevant" surface area was that of the catalyst comprising chromium on silica from step a) of claim 1 or that of the silica support per se. 2.4.1 However, it is derivable from the wording of claim 1 itself that for the ratios specified in claim 1 use is made of the specific surface area of the support per se (i.e. without chromium and/or titanium: see wording of granted claim 1 "specific surface area of the support"). That reading of claim 1 is further supported by the patent specification (see e.g. paragraphs 22, 23, 28, 33 and 58). It is further clear from paragraph 58 in combination with column 9 of Table 4 of the patent in suit that the expression "Surface area starting catalyst" indicated in each of Tables 1-4 of the patent in suit is related to the specific surface area of the neat silica support, not the chromium containing support obtained after step a) of claim 1. 2.4.2 The fact that step b) of claim 1 is a dehydrating step is not incompatible with that reading. In particular, there is no reason to consider that the specific surface area measurement should be made in the presence of water. In that respect, it is in particular derivable from paragraph 53 of the patent in suit that the deposition of chromium requires wetness impregnation and thus calls for a subsequent dehydrating step b). 2.4.3 Therefore, that argument is not persuasive. 2.5 The respondent's objection raised against granted claim 2 is based on the same arguments as those identified above in respect of granted claim 1. They are, for the same reasons, not convincing. 3. For those reasons, the respondent's objections pursuant to Article 100(b) EPC are rejected. 4. Remittal The issues of novelty and inventive step were not addressed in the contested decision. Further considering that the appellant requested remittal to the first instance, which was not objected to by the respondent, it is appropriate to remit the case to the department of first instance for further prosecution (Article 111(1) EPC). 2. The case is remitted to the department of first instance for further prosecution.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1198
__label__cc	0.665515	0.334485	Michael K. Cobb At the height of a successful career in the computer industry, Michael left to pursue more pioneering opportunities in the emerging real estate markets of Central America. In 1996, he and his business partner formed a company, Exotic Caye International, to provide loans to North Americans purchasing properties in Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica and throughout the region. As the need for capital outstripped the supply, the mortgage company was converted to an international bank under the jurisdiction of Belize. As Caye International Bank, it continues to provide mortgage services, but has expanded its services to encompass the full realm of financial products. With a strong focus on consumer need, Michael accurately predicted the growing need for high quality, residential product for North American Baby Boomer retirees in the region. He led the group into real estate development and created a holding company called ECI Development for several properties including a resort on Ambergris Caye, Belize. The model pursued is based on the Del Webb Sun City active senior communities in the U.S. with a focus on serving these consumers in multiple countries and geographies in the region. In August of 2000, ECI Development purchased 3.5 miles of Pacific Beachfront property due west of Managua, Nicaragua. This master planned community hosts world class infrastructure, a golf course, homes and condominium units. In February of 2006, the ECI Development group acquired 1100 acres and 3km of coastline in Costa Rica, setting the stage for expansion into this popular market. In 2008, they merged their Belize property with a much larger parcel including pool, tennis courts and fitness center and have begun to develop 200 condominiums units on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Most recently in 2012, ECI Development purchased a position in a new project in Panama adding over 700 acres and another mile of Pacific beach front to their holdings. Have a question or comment, contact me here A True Escape Artist - MICHAEL COBB The Essential Do’s and Don’ts of IRA Investment Michael K. Cobb Oct 24, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on October 24, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Most Americans have been… Top 5 Reasons to Visit Nicaragua Right Now This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on October 17, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.You’ll be safe.Even the… Top Travel and Real Estate Trends for Millennials This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on October 10, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Because so many of the… Expat Tax Compliance: Get it Right or Go to Jail Michael K. Cobb Oct 3, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on October 03, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.One of the biggest… Should I Buy My Medicine or Keep the Heat On? Michael K. Cobb Sep 26, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on September 26, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.What a tough question to… The Millennial Generation (Part 1) This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on September 19, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.The demographic now… A Path Less Taken This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on September 12, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Imagine this. It’s a… No Limitations: A 2018 Outlook on Global Travel for the Physically Disabled Michael K. Cobb Sep 5, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on September 05, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Travel is one of the… Best Reasons to Set Up a Self-Directed IRA Michael K. Cobb Aug 29, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on August 29, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.The Top Five reasons people… Running with the Bulls Friday, July 13th, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on August 22, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Up to this moment, it… Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain (Part 1) This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on August 15, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Wow. That’s about all that… When Everything Else Fails, Crypto Will Remain Michael K. Cobb Aug 8, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on August 08, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Many countries around the… Diversify Now, While the Getting is Great This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on August 1, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here. Be fearful when others are… Nicaragua and the World’s Best Handcrafted Ceramic Tiles and Bricks Michael K. Cobb Jul 25, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 25, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Nicaragua has a tradition of… Opportunity Awaits in Belize! This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 18, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Have you ever thought about… Climate and Geography When Moving Overseas This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 11, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Moving overseas is a big… Freedom – The Foundation for Our Future Michael K. Cobb Jul 4, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 04, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Dinesh D’Souza wrote an… Belize is the Place to Be in 2018 Michael K. Cobb Jun 27, 2018 This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on June 27, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Summer is upon us, and that… Why I Chose Teak Over Legos This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on June 20, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.Time Magazine once… Community, Friendship, and Cheese from Portugal This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on June 13, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.I’m sitting in Medellin,…	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1202
__label__wiki	0.7035	0.7035	Ms Virginia Morris School Council Chairman Term of Service: from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019 Email: virginia.morris@esfcentre.com.hk Virginia Morris is a community representative and the Chairman of the Jockey Club Sarah Roe School Council. She is a branding and leadership expert at Bamboo Difference, working with middle managers and senior leaders on how to succeed in business while also positively impacting the community. Virginia holds a Master of Commerce and teaches in the Faculty of Business and Economics MBA programme at The University of Hong Kong. She has previously held senior global and Asia Pacific regional positions with Starbucks Coffee International, The Economist Group, Eye Corp, Air New Zealand, Ansett Australia, Tourism Australia and Cunard Line. Virginia has spent the past five years as a community representative on South Island School Council and is also a Mentor for The Women’s Foundation, a University of Hong Kong Mentor for Undergraduates, and a past Board member of KELY Support Group. Click here to view the full list of Board members 2019-20 (FINAL) Sports & Languages	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1204
__label__wiki	0.719827	0.719827	Qi Baishi 1864-01-01 Hunan, Xiangtan 1957-09-16 Beijing Qi Baishi (simplified Chinese: 齐白石; traditional Chinese: 齊白石; pinyin: Qí Báishí; Wade–Giles: Ch'i Pai-shih) (January 1, 1864 – September 16, 1957) was an influential Chinese painter.Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China. After 1917 he settled in Beijing. He is perhaps the most noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works.Some of Qi's major influences include the early Qing Dynasty painter Bada Shanren (八大山人 or Zhu Da) and the Ming Dynasty artist Xu Wei (徐渭).His pseudonyms include Qí Huáng (齊璜) and Qí Wèiqīng (齐渭清). The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys, vegetables, and so on. He theorized that "paintings must be something between likeness and unlikeness, much like today's vulgarians, but not like to cheat popular people". In his later years, many of his works depict mice, shrimp or birds.He was also good at seal carving and called himself "the rich man of three hundred stone seals" (三百石印富翁).In 1953 he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists. He died in Beijing in 1957. Items by Qi Baishi Målning, Bildkonst, Painting \| Qi Baishi "Fiskar" Tusch på papper. Vertikalmålning.; Målning av Qi Baishi, tusch på papper, fisk, Kina.; OM-1986-0002; Qi Da: (kvadratiskt, intaglio); gåva inköp; Kina-kommittén (inköpt från Sören Edgren. USD 15.000,-).; qi da: (kvadratiskt, intaglio); Enligt anteckningar i F2AA:2;... View at Östasiatiska museet Trykblok, kinesisk; Print blocks, Chinese \| Qi Baishi Otte trykblokke af træ til brug for at kopiere et Guohua maleri (紅牵牛) fra 1951 af Qi Baishi (1863-1957) i 水印 teknikken. Otte bloktryk, et for hver blok med fem sorte, to røde og et rosa.; Ca. 27,5 x 18,5 cm.; Træ + papir; (Blok og trykkene i hver sin æske); Fra udstillngen:... View at The Royal Library: The National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen University Library	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1205
__label__wiki	0.756345	0.756345	Golfing Data Analysts 15th Club Hire Justin Ray As Head Of Content Matthew Cooper Contributor We are a young company with big ambitions Europe's Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn used the services of 15th Club to regain the trophy in 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) With the announcement last month of Justin Ray accepting the role of Head of Content London-based 15th Club is taking another bold step in the modern world of golfing data analysis. Ray, formerly of Golf Channel and ESPN, owns a Twitter timeline which has become one of the go-to social media accounts for golfers, golf fans and golf media alike. 15th Club is a team of golf professionals, data experts and software engineers whose focus is to assist professional golfers by applying intelligence to data and the media to tell stories through the correct application of golfing numbers. Their involvement in the success of the European Ryder Cup team at Le Golf National in Paris last September garnered much praise and European Tour members have access to 15th Club’s unique player analytics platform Waggle. Managing Director of 15th Club, Dan Zelezinski, said: “Justin’s education, experience and passion for the game made him a standout candidate to support our ambitions to unlock sustainable value for our clients and partners. “He compliments a phenomenally talented team and we look forward to his contributions as we leverage the many opportunities emerging from the junction of enhanced statistics, storytelling, technology & global distribution channels.” Ray, who graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2007 added: “I am thrilled to join 15th Club, a company uniquely positioned to impact the future of golf across a multitude of platforms. “From engaging directly with some of the world’s best players, to generating content in an evolving media landscape, I am immensely proud to call 15th Club my new professional home.” Head of Golf Duncan Carey expanded on the appointment: Matt Cooper: First thought is that after a few years of slow-burn, during which time you've built a strong platform, it feels like the Ryder Cup success in Paris took 15th Club to a new level – would that be right? Duncan Carey: I wouldn’t refer to it as a slow burn. We have committed significant resources to building a strong technology platform that will support our long term ambitions. The reality is that high-performance arenas are like icebergs and most only see the tip. People tend to underestimate what foundations are required to execute a well-orchestrated plan using a highly sophisticated software platform in tandem with our analysts. Something often forgotten is that we were involved with the Ryder Cup back in 2016 as well – the fact we lost just meant there was way less media in the aftermath. We learned a lot from that experience though and off the back of it made some changes coming into 2018 and were confident we’d done our homework and were fully prepared. The nature of the win was something even we hadn’t anticipated and credit must go to Thomas and the players for their performance over the three days – it was truly spectacular. Off the back of such an emphatic win, people tend to question what were the elements that contributed to it, and that's what we were – another element in Thomas’ wider plan. Subsequently, we generated a lot of media interest, and our name was thrown around more in the industry. Obviously it’s nice to get a boost like that, but after a few years of sustainable development, it feels like, Ryder Cup or not, we were ready to grow the company to the next level, and having brought in a few new faces, not just Justin, but also including a new Managing Director, Dan Zelezinski, we are now in the enviable position to execute on that. Cooper: And Justin's arrival hints at big aspirations on and around the PGA Tour? Carey: It’s no secret that many of the world's best players base themselves on the PGA Tour, along with a major broadcast focus from some of the giants in the media industry. We will always have a close relationship with the European Tour, due both to our roots in Europe, the Ryder Cup and our proprietary player software Waggle, which is available to all European Tor members. We are a young company with big ambitions , and in a privileged position to build upon the credibility and value created in Europe and expand into the US market. With Justin’s extensive experience of the golf industry, storytelling ability and knowledge of data analytics, he brings a unique fusion for us to surface some of the most interesting insights from the tour where the top-ranked players are playing each week. The U.S. embraces the game like no other nation. From high school to college to Web.com to LPGA to Champions to the PGA Tour there are undoubtedly huge opportunities for us, and bringing Justin on board is a defining moment for 15th Club to increase its global footprint. Cooper: Was it a case of seeing his work and feeling he had the wherewithal to both use your numbers wisely and also introduce 15th Club to a wider audience? Carey: Precisely. As mentioned above, Justin brings with him a unique combination of skills, particularly with his experience at both ESPN and Golf Channel. Our ongoing work with the likes of Sky Sports Golf enables Justin to combine his knowledge of the media space and leverage our powerful analytics platform to ensure we are making the most of these opportunities and improving the viewing experience for the TV audience as much as we can. It’s about bridging the gap between the complex world of numbers in golf and the audience – and Justin is perfectly placed to help us continue to do that. Cooper: Finally, is there anything you can reveal of the future? Carey: We’ve brought Justin in as our Head of Content, and that’s exactly what to expect – content! We’ve got a great team of data analysts, storytellers and technologists. We think 15th Club is uniquely positioned to exploit opportunities emerging from a rapidly evolving media landscape and the fans growing appetite for enhanced statistics in golf. Matthew Cooper Since 2009 I've covered golf for SkySports.com, Planet Sport Network and ESPN among many others. Interested in both the men's and women's game, I've reported from the ho...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1207
__label__cc	0.529731	0.470269	Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped To provide library service to the blind and physically handicapped residents of the United States and its Territories, and to American citizens living abroad. Agency: Library of Congress Use of Property, Facilities, and Equipment. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In FY 06, 811,015 blind and physically handicapped readers were served by regional and subregional libraries throughout the United States with a collection of 423,000 titles in recorded and braille formats. Circulation of volumes and containers was 26,296,198. Actual readership: FY 06, 793,891. Estimated readership: FY 07, 793,891; and FY 08, 811,015. Actual circulation: FY 06, 24,677,023. Estimated circulation: FY 07, 24,677,023; and FY 08, 26,296,198. Public Laws 71-787, 87-765, and 89-522, 2 U.S.C. 135a, 135a-1, 135b. An applicant must provide a certificate of his inability to read or manipulate standard printed material from a competent authority, defined in cases of blindness, visual disability, or physical limitations, as doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies. In the absence of any of these, certification may be made by professional librarians or by any person whose competence under specific circumstances is acceptable to the Library of Congress. In the case of reading disability from organic dysfunction, competent authority is defined as doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy who may consult with colleagues in associated disciplines. Beneficiary Eligibility Blind and physically handicapped residents of the United States and its Territories, and American citizens living abroad will benefit. Credentials/Documentation An applicant must provide a certificate of his inability to read or manipulate standard printed material from a competent authority, defined in cases of blindness, visual disability, or physical limitations, as doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, professional staff of hospitals, institutions and public or welfare agencies. In the absence of any of these, certification may be made by professional librarians or by any person whose competence under specific circumstances is acceptable to the Library of Congress. In the case of reading disability from organic dysfunction, competent authority is defined as doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy who may consult with colleagues in associated disciplines. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. Pre-Application Procedure This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: Applications can be made to the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Washington, DC, or the 57 regional libraries, or 75 subregional libraries. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A 110. Award Procedure Approval/Disapproval Decision Time How are proposals selected? How may assistance be used? The program provides books on cassette, disc, in Braille, and talking book and recorded cassette machines. There are 57 regional libraries and 75 subregional libraries in the United States with access to approximately 423,000 titles in recorded and braille formats and more than 22,000 music scores, textbooks, and instructional materials in braille, large type and recorded formats worldwide. What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity? Length and Time Phasing of Assistance Regional or Local Office Regional or Local Office: Fifty seven regional and 75 subregional libraries in the United States. Each State has an agency distributing talking book machines. Local public libraries have information available. Otherwise contact the headquarters office listed in this program. Frank Kurt Cylke, Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 1291 Taylor Street, NW., Washington DC 20542. Telephone: (202) 707-5100. E-mail: nls@loc.gov. http://www.loc.gov/nls. Account Identification 03-0141-0-1-503. Obligations: (20 percent salaries and expenses; 80 percent equipment and support) FY 07 $38,039,736; FY 08 est $75,623,000; and FY 09 est not reported. Range and Average of Financial Assistance Regulations, Guidelines and Literature "Reading is for Everyone." Application form, list of regional and subregional libraries, 36 CFR (Chapter VII). Examples of Funded Projects	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1209
__label__wiki	0.820378	0.820378	News Archive for January, 2014 Property Use Restriction is Reasonable, Rules Tribunal It is normal for any building divided into flats to have rules relating to the use to which the flats can be put, as well as other internal regulations. The potential scope of such regulations was tested in a recent case which dealt with whether or not it was reasonable to have a rule that required flat dwellers to be owner/occupiers, rather than short-term tenants. The argument resulted in a decision by the Upper Tribunal, which refused to amend a provision in a lease which restricted the use of the residential premises to the long leaseholder and his family. The flat was held under a 90-year lease and formed part of a small residential block. The lease contained no restrictions on assignment or subletting but included a covenant whereby the leaseholder agreed ‘to use the flat as a private dwelling for the lessee and his family and for no other purpose’. When applying under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for an extension to his lease, the leaseholder had sought deletion of the words ‘for the lessee and his family’. The landlord would not agree to the amendment and the leaseholder’s arguments on that issue were subsequently rejected by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal noted that it was only to be expected that owner/ occupiers might prefer their neighbours also to be owner/occupiers, rather than tenants with a more limited interest. In the circumstances, a covenant which sought to restrict use to the leaseholder and his family was reasonable and, on the evidence, had been ‘included deliberately’ in the lease. If you are considering the purchase of a flat or other property in a multi-occupied building, a good understanding of any restrictions on use and the internal regulations generally is important. Contact us for advice. Posted by Peter Nicholas on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 11:33 AM Cohabitation and the Law – Changes Afoot? A Private Member’s Bill currently in Parliament aims to give long-term cohabitants rights more akin to those enjoyed by married couples and those in civil partnerships. At present, a long-term cohabitant has no more legal rights relating to their partner than a person would if they were living with a friend. The Bill defines long-term cohabitation as cohabitation lasting two years or more. Interestingly, it makes provision for couples who specifically wish not to have legal relations established between them to be able to ‘opt out’. The Bill proposes to give a long-term cohabitant the right to bring a claim for a financial settlement against their former partner if they have suffered an economic disadvantage and the court is satisfied that their claim is ‘just and equitable’. The terms of the settlement would be based on essentially the same factors as a financial settlement on divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership, including the relative financial positions of the two parties, the arrangements for looking after children and their needs, and so on. If you are concerned about the legal issues that may arise if you intend to cohabit or even just share a property with another person or persons, contact us. Revised Guidance on Preventing Illegal Working The Home Office has updated its guidance for employers on preventing illegal working in the UK, which contains important information and advice on: The law on illegal working; Your role and duty as an employer; The document checks you should carry out; The various documents you could be given (including example images); The various types of immigration statuses held bypeople; and The consequences for employers who do not carry out document checks and are found to be employing an illegal worker. The changes relate to: The ending on 31 December 2013 of the restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals working in the UK; Restrictions on Croatian nationals which came into force on 1 July 2013; Information on the Fast Payment Option for paying a civil penalty; and An additional circumstance in which a sponsor licence can be revoked if an employer receives a civil penalty. The guidance can be found on the website of the UK Border Agency at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk. Posted by Peter Nicholas on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 03:58 PM New Guidance on the National Minimum Wage All employers must pay those who work for them at least the appropriate rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) if they are a ‘worker’ for minimum wage purposes and a specific exemption does not apply to them. The penalties for failing to do so are severe. The Government has produced new guidance to help employers comply with the law. This is divided into the following areas: Eligibility for the NMW; Calculating the NMW; Working hours for which the NMW must be paid; and Enforcement of the NMW rules. The guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-the-minimum-wage Maternity Leave and Flexible Working Hours In a ruling which underlines the fact that discrimination cases are particularly ‘fact sensitive’, a sales executive whose request for flexible working on her return from maternity leave was initially refused by her employer, but then granted on appeal, has lost her claim of indirect sex discrimination (Little v Richmond Pharmacology Limited). Ms Little, who was employed by clinical research company Richmond Pharmacology Limited as a full-time sales executive, had requested permission to work reduced hours, three days a week, on her return from maternity leave. She tendered her resignation after her line manager refused the request on the basis that, given the intensive one on-one service the company provided to its clients, it was not feasible for a sales executive to work part time. That same day, the company asked her to reconsider her decision to resign and Ms Little subsequently participated in an appeal hearing which resulted in an offer that she be permitted to work part time on the terms she had suggested for a three-month trial period. She did not take up the offer, however, and confirmed her resignation. The Employment Tribunal (ET) dismissed Ms Little’s claim of indirect sex discrimination on the basis that, given the success of her internal appeal, she had suffered no personal disadvantage or detriment. The requirement that sales executives must work full time was justified by the way in which the company operated and had in any event been disapplied by the appeal decision. Ms Little appealed against the ET’s ruling, arguing before the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that the tort of indirect sex discrimination had been completed by her line manager’s initial refusal to allow her to work part time and could not be ‘cured’ by her subsequent successful appeal. The EAT dismissed the appeal. Instead of resigning, Ms Little could have taken up Richmond Pharmacology’s reasonable offer of a three-month trial period working fewer hours. Despite having earlier tendered her resignation, she had participated in the appeal process, which had delivered the result that she desired. Ms Little’s line manager’s initial refusal of a part-time return to work was conditional in that it was expressed to be subject to her right of appeal, which she had successfully exercised. In the circumstances, she had suffered no personal detriment and her claim had rightly been rejected. If you receive a request from an employee for flexible working and are unsure of your position, we can advise you on your individual circumstances. Husband Who Hid Assets Faces New Settlement If you have negotiated a divorce settlement and then find out that your ex-spouse has been less than open when disclosing their personal finances, the court will reopen the matter if there is sufficient evidence to do so. In a recent hearing, the court was told by the ex-wife of a businessman that he had not been entirely truthful when he made his financial disclosures. She claimed that her ex-husband had substantially undervalued his assets by claiming that shares he owned in a company had no value when they were worth more than £700,000. In addition, she claimed that he had failed to disclose other investments he held that were worth more than £800,000. The wife successfully applied for the previously agreed financial settlement of £1.8 million to be set aside so that a new settlement, based on the true position, could be negotiated. The courts insist that the disclosure of assets and income in such circumstances is correct and complete. Failing to be open and truthful can lead to unpleasant consequences. Contact us for expert assistance in all family law matters on 01554 749144 or [email protected] Posted by Peter Nicholas on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 03:17 PM Tech Workers Triumph in Unlawful Pay Deductions Test Case In an important decision which helps to clarify the impact of ‘custom and practice’ on employment cases, the Court of Appeal has upheld claims by 23 workers that their technology company employer made unlawful deductions from their pay (CSC Computer Sciences Limited v McAlinden and Others). In their previous jobs, the IT workers had for a considerable period received annual pay increases in line with the retail prices index (RPI). Their employment subsequently passed to CSC Computer Sciences Limited in 2000; however, the original terms of their contracts continued to apply by virtue of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. CSC Computer Sciences had continued to award them RPI-linked pay increases for several years following the transfer. However, pay rises subsequently fell behind the index and the Employment Tribunal ruled that unlawful deductions had been made from the workers’ pay. That decision was later upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Dismissing CSC Computer Sciences’ appeal, the Court of Appeal found that, although the workers had no express contractual right to RPI-linked pay increases, such an entitlement had been implied into their contracts by reason of the parties’conduct and established custom and practice. CSC Computer Sciences had, by its conduct, communicated to the workers that there was ‘a policy’ in place that their pay would increase in line with the RPI and had ‘conveyed the impression’ that that was their contractual right. Whether the company was mistaken in its belief as to its obligations was irrelevant in that it is well established that unilateral mistake cannot invalidate a contract. Not all contractual obligations are in writing – they can be ‘implied into a contract’ by a course of conduct over time. Contact us if you would like advice on any contractual matter. Dental Practice Manager Wins Unfair Dismissal Claim In The Leeds Dental Team Limited v Rose, a dental practice manager has succeeded in her claim for constructive unfair dismissal after her employer’s refusal to allow her to be accompanied by a friend or adviser at a disciplinary hearing contributed to a breakdown of trust and confidence in the employment relationship. Mrs Rose was suspended from her job at The Leeds Dental Team Limited after she was accused of showing favouritism towards another employee and failing to record the latter’s sickness absences. Her request that she be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing by Mr Temple, the former owner of the business who continued to work for the practice, was rejected by the new owner, Ms Shafi, who believed that he would be supportive of Mrs Rose’s position. The proceedings had ‘ended in disarray’ when Mr Temple tried to enter the room where the hearing was taking place and Ms Shafi sought to prevent him from doing so. Mrs Rose was then informed that if she did not attend a re-arranged hearing, alone, her pay would be stopped. She was then absent from work on sick leave and eventually resigned by letter. The Employment Tribunal (ET) found that she had been unfairly constructively dismissed and awarded her a basic award of £5,000 and a compensatory award of £4,205. The ET found that, by its actions, her employer had breached the term of trust and confidence implicit in Mrs Rose’s contract of employment. In dismissing the company’s appeal against that decision, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) rejected arguments that the ET had failed to analyse the employer’s subjective intentions and had reached a perverse conclusion. It upheld the ET’s ruling that the disciplinary process had been ‘handled very badly’. Noting the gravity of the allegations and Mrs Rose’s 13 years of unblemished service to her employer and its TUPE predecessor, the EAT found that The Leeds Dental Team had acted unreasonably in refusing to allow Mrs Rose to be accompanied at the disciplinary hearing. The failure to give her an opportunity to explain herself at an investigatory interview and the threat to stop her pay were also unreasonable in the circumstances. Mishandling disciplinary procedures can prove expensive. If you are intending to take disciplinary action against an employee, contact us for advice. Corporate Insolvency and TUPE – Court of Appeal Gives Guidance In a case which raised new issues on the inter-relationship between insolvency rules and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), the Court of Appeal has dismissed the unfair dismissal claims of four employees who lost their jobs at Crystal Palace Football Club as it sank into administration (Crystal Palace FC Limited and Another v Kavanagh and Others). The club, which was at that time owned by Crystal Palace FC (2000) Limited, was near the bottom of the Championship and in dire financial straits at the end of the 2009/2010 season when the employees were summarily dismissed by the administrator, who was anxious to sell the club as a going concern. Matters were complicated by the fact that Selhurst Park Stadium was owned by a different company and this too was in administration. At the time of the dismissals, the administrator had been in negotiations with a consortium which ultimately bought the club through a corporate vehicle, Crystal Palace FC Limited (CPFC). The employees commenced Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings against CPFC on the basis that their dismissals had been unfair and the company was liable to compensate them by virtue of TUPE. Whilst it was common ground that the principal reason for the dismissals was not the transfer itself, as no agreement had been reached with regard to this at the date on which the dismissals took place, the employees claimed that their dismissals were unfair by reason of Regulation 7 of TUPE because they were for a reason connected with the transfer that was not an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce. The ET dismissed their claims but their challenge to that decision was subsequently upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Allowing the company’s appeal and restoring the ET’s decision, the Court of Appeal noted that although the dismissals had been ‘connected with the transfer’, the administrator had had genuine economic reasons for dispensing with the employees’ services that were not related to the sale of the club. Noting the ‘unique features’ pertaining to the financial affairs of football clubs, which commonly have few assets other than their squad of players, the Court found that the administrator’s principal motive was to reduce the club’s wage bill in order to continue running the business and to avoid liquidation. Although the club’s disposal as a going concern was the administrator’s ultimate objective, the sale to the consortium was only hoped for at the time of the dismissals. The Court also noted that the dismissals had not made the business of the club ‘a whit more attractive’ to a potential purchaser. It was only because negotiations for the parallel sale of the stadium dragged on beyond the time during which the administrators could continue to pay all the staff that the employees had to be dismissed. In its judgment, the Court noted that the case had raised ‘fundamental issues’ relating to the interaction between corporate insolvency rules and the employment protection provided by TUPE. The ruling means that any potential liability arising out of the dismissals remained with Crystal Palace FC (2000) Limited and did not pass to CPFC following transfer of the club’s assets. If you are seeking to acquire a business in administration, contact us for advice.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1214
__label__wiki	0.966277	0.966277	Assault raises concerns about accused cancer fraudster’s return to remand centre The lawyer for a man accused of holding a fraudulent cancer fundraiser is unsure whether his client will be able to make his next court appearance on Friday as he remains in hospital following a severe jailhouse beating. Now, defence lawyer Joel Chevrefils is assessing [The Accused] to see if he’s a “viable candidate” for a bail hearing as there are concerns about the accused fraudster returning to the remand centre. “We’ll be appearing in court for him, but whether or not he’s able to appear will be up to medical professionals to make that decision,” Chevrefils said. “But we certainly have some concerns about him returning to remand, and what the possible outcomes are for him.” [The Accused], 28, was taken to Foothills Hospital after an unknown number of assailants entered his cell at the Calgary Remand Centre and assaulted him Sunday morning, said Chevrefils. Prison guards eventually broke up the attack. But [The Accused] was left with a broken nose, a lacerated or bruised spleen, bruises on his back and torso, and two black eyes. “He’s got a concussion, so he’s suffering from the effects of that,” Chevrefils said. “He’s also got some difficulties with vision out of his left eye.” It’s possible [The Accused] may be moved to another hospital to see a specialist for his vision problems, his lawyer said. It’s not known whether the attackers recognized [The Accused], he added. “Right now, obviously he’s afraid for his own safety. He’s very afraid of going back to the Calgary Remand Centre.” Chevrefils said he is waiting to receive disclosure from the Crown. Cook is charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 after allegedly holding a fraudulent silent auction as a cancer fundraiser last year during which about $7,500 was raised in cash or donations by more than 100 people. [The Accused] allegedly told friends he was battling brain cancer and needed money for treatments, his former friends told the Herald last month. He said he was ineligible for Alberta Health Care because he was born in Texas, the former friends alleged. But friends soon grew suspicious about where the money was going and whether the man really had cancer, police said, adding investigators were soon notified and a probe was launched. Police determined the man had not received treatment at any cancer facility in Calgary. It’s not known what the money was used for, but it did not go toward cancer treatment, police said. [The Accused] was arrested in Victoria last week by police acting on a tip, and was returned to Calgary on Saturday. He was assaulted Sunday, ahead of his first scheduled court appearance on Monday. Chevrefils said a member of the Calgary Police Service forensics unit came to photograph [The Accused]’s injuries Monday while Chevrefils was visiting him in hospital. City police confirmed they are investigating an assault at the Calgary Remand Centre at around 9:45 a.m. Sunday, but declined to offer further details. Michelle Davio, spokeswoman with the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, also confirmed there was an incident at the Calgary Remand Centre and that police were called, but would not offer specific details. However, she said an internal investigation has been called, which is conducted anytime there is an assault at one of their facilities. "They would look at what happened, what led to the event, what came after, the whole situation, to see if anything could be done differently or if anything could have prevented this,” she said. She said there are cameras in the facility. She added all inmates who come in to the facility are assessed to determine the best place to put them so incompatible inmates aren’t placed together.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1217
__label__cc	0.675465	0.324535	Willstrop exhibiting 5th game mental toughness If anyone has been keeping up with PSA's SquashTV and/or current tournaments on PSA, you'll see that this week is the Bellevue Classic out near Seattle, WA, USA. This is a big 100K tournament for the men on the tour right now, drawing in top players like Gregory Gaultier, Ali Farag, Ryan Cuskelly, and Marwan Elshorbagy. The 4-seed in the draw is England's James Willstrop, who is currently ranked #6 in the world. In the first two rounds of the tournament (he plays in the semi-finals today versus Gregory Gaultier!), he had incredible 5-game wins after being down late in the fifth game. He shows all of the mental toughness any player needs in tight situations like his. In the first round, James came up against Hong Kong's Max Lee. They battled out the first four games, Lee winning 11-9 in the first, then Willstrop coming back 11-5, 11-5 and then Lee leveling it at 2 games all with an 11-4 fourth game win. In the fifth game, Willstrop was down 9-7 but came back to win 11-9. He is a former World #1 with tons of experience...but experience doesn't directly correlate to that kind of ability to dig deep. In his interview with PSA, he said:"I had to dig in and have faith in what I was doing. I’m very pleased to come away with the win. I just had to keep it as simple as I could really, once you start clouding your head with loads of thoughts it makes it worse. I only think about what I’m out there trying to do and I simplify it rather than think about how many points I’ve got to win. It’s not very easy, but you’ve got to forget about the scoreboard as much as possible." After this incredible win, he decided he would do it again yesterday when he took on Spain's Borja Golan! James found himself 2-0 up after winning 11-6, 11-7. However Golan stepped it up a level and won the next two games quickly, winning 11-2, 11-6. They were quite tight through the first half of the fifth game, before Golan took a lead at 10-7. Willstrop then came back to bring it to 10-10 and then proceeded to win the next two points and take the match at 12-10 in the fifth. This last game was an incredible round of points and we HIGHLY recommend watching it (highlights in this article!) Now, what can we take away from these incredible back-to-back five game wins? It is important to note what Willstrop said in his first PSA interview (which he reiterated with the courtside emcee after his match against Golan), which was to TRUST your game. Keep it simple. Once you are in that tight situation, it is highly important not to let the scoreline or the nerves or the stress get to you. If you stay focused on the task at hand, which is executing your game plan, you give yourself the best shot at performing well and therefore the best shot at winning the point, then hopefully the game and the match. Another option? Set yourself some mini-goals!! If you haven't watched any of the matches yet, here are some highlights from SquashTV. If you want to watch the full match, we recommend subscribing to SquashTV! Remember, we offer all of our East Coast Squash Academy members a 10% discount on SquashTV, so contact us now for your promo code :)!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1219
__label__cc	0.693231	0.306769	Home > Movie Stars > P > Grace Park > More Biographies More Grace Park Bios & Profiles The most recent Grace Park biography is published on the main page. Biography #2 (for Battlestar Gallactica) In just a few short years, Grace Park has managed to rack up an impressive list of credits, including the feature Romeo Must Die, the telefilm L.A. Law: The Movie and the popular CBC teen series Edgemont, in which she played Shannon Ng in the ensemble cast. She has appeared on such series as Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, The Outer Limits, Dark Angel, The Immortal (in which she played the recurring role of Mikiko) and the SCI FI Original Series Stargate SG-1. She holds a degree in psychology and speaks English and Korean, along with some French and Cantonese; she is currently studying Spanish. Bio courtesy SciFi Channel for "Battlestar Gallactica" (01-Jul-2003)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1220
__label__wiki	0.878907	0.878907	Take the case of former Los Angeles Clippers forward Craig Smith, who says he was bilked out of more than $2 million. Smith, 31, told me he knew very little about managing money when he first came into serious coin. “Growing up in Los Angeles, I didn’t know what a million dollars looked like,” he said. “You hear about all this stuff, but in real life it’s different.” The 6-foot-7 Smith was raised in Inglewood and was a high school standout. He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006 and traded to the Clippers in 2009. He joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 2011 and now is a free agent. Smith’s total income from six years in the National Basketball Association was $9.4 million, according to the website Basketball-Reference.com. He told me, and he alleges in a pair of lawsuits filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, that he discovered in 2012 that he had only $85 in an account at City National Bank. Smith’s lawsuits allege that his then-business manager, Noah Lookofsky, forged Smith’s signature to transfer more than $2 million to his own accounts from Smith’s accounts at City National and U.S. Bank. Smith is suing the two banks for allegedly failing to notify him of unusual activity involving his accounts. Representatives of both institutions declined to comment. Smith also is suing Lookofsky. In a brief phone interview, Lookofsky declined to comment on the allegations against him, saying only that “no fraud was committed.” Separately, he is awaiting trial in Iowa on a bad check charge. Coming into big bucks is a problem most people would love to have. But it’s a situation fraught with peril — so much so that psychologists have coined a phrase, “sudden wealth syndrome,” to describe those whose lives are ruined after becoming rich. Think of all the stories you’ve read about lottery winners who end up destitute. Athletes and entertainers have it a little different. They’ve worked for their success, after all, and frequently approach sudden wealth with a sense of entitlement. “Those are the hardest clients to deal with,” said Belva Anakwenze, an L.A. business manager who got her start handling NBA players but now focuses on clients in the TV industry. “I stopped chasing NBA players because they just don’t care about their finances,” she said. “They don’t ask any questions. They don’t want to know.” For his part, Smith acknowledged that he was more focused at the outset of his career on enjoying himself than in raising his financial game. “You’re young,” he said. “You want to show off a little bit.” That’s the first mistake a newly rich person can make, Anakwenze said. Rather than strutting your stuff, it’s important from the get-go to take your finances seriously and to understand how your cash is being put to use. “I also advise segregation of services,” she said. “I’ll be your business manager, but someone else will do your taxes, and someone else will handle your investments. That way there are checks and balances.” Another rule of thumb: Don’t be foolish. Bernie Gudvi, a business manager whose clients include pop and rock stars, said it can be tempting for the newly rich to think they’ll hit financial home runs by investing in clubs, restaurants and similarly risky businesses. “You’re successful at what you do, so you think that makes you smart in other areas,” said Gudvi, who is also based in LA. “That’s usually not the case.” Scott Feinstein, another area business manager whose clients include actors and athletes, said one of the biggest challenges he faces is dealing with clients’ restlessness. “They’re frequently bored and looking for something to do,” he said. “The combination of boredom and money is the root of all evil, as far as I’m concerned.” By this point, you’re probably thinking, “Well, if I struck it rich, I wouldn’t be a jerk. I’d do it right.” The reality, however, is that the rules for one-percenters apply to the other 99% as well — meaning these are things you already should be doing: ▪ Be hands-on with your finances. Make sure your money is being put to the best use in financial markets, and revisit your portfolio annually. ▪ Do your homework. If you don’t know the answer to a question, ask someone who does. ▪ Don’t take on more risk than you can handle. ▪ Plan for the future. That means saving a portion of your income. Each of the business managers I spoke with said the most important task they face is educating clients about responsible cash management. Some clients get it, they said. Others end up broke as soon as the well runs dry. Smith gets it — at least now. “This is a business,” he said. “It’s all about longevity.” The biggest lesson he’s learned? Smith didn’t hesitate. Pay attention to your money, he said. “And don’t trust anyone.” David Lazarus is a Los Angeles Times columnist. He answers consumer questions. Contact him: klaz@latimes.com or @Davidlaz. Read more by Lazarus at fblinks.com/laz. Pence encouraged that the USMCA will pass Here’s how to get alcohol and food delivered to your door in Fresno US home construction slips 0.9% to 1.25 million in June Curaleaf to acquire Grassroots Cannabis for $875 million, expanding its national reach Judge limits Hammond Ranches cattle grazing as case proceeds	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1223
__label__wiki	0.703015	0.703015	Dental Practice Software Provider Settles FTC Charges It Misled Customers About Encryption of Patient Data Health Professional Services Henry Schein Practice Solutions, Inc. (“Schein”), the provider of leading office management software for dental practices, will pay $250,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges it falsely advertised the level of encryption it provided to protect patient data. The FTC’s complaint alleges that Schein marketed its Dentrix G5 software to dental practices around the country with deceptive claims that the software provided industry-standard encryption of sensitive patient information and, in doing so, ensured that practices using its software would protect patient data, as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). “Strong encryption is critical for companies dealing with sensitive health information,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If a company promises strong encryption, it should deliver it.” In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Schein was aware that Dentrix G5 used a less complex method of data masking to protect patient data than Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which is recommended as an industry standard by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and provides the appropriate protection to meet certain regulatory obligations under HIPAA. Nevertheless, for two years, Schein touted the product’s “encryption capabilities” for protecting patient information and meeting “data protection regulations” in multiple marketing materials, including newsletters and brochures targeted at dentists. Under the terms of the proposed consent order, Schein will be required to pay $250,000 to the FTC. In addition, the company will be prohibited from misleading customers about the extent to which its products use industry-standard encryption or the extent to which its products help ensure regulatory compliance or protect consumers’ personal information. In addition, Schein will be required to notify all of its customers who purchased Dentrix G5 during the period when the company made the misleading statements that the product does not provide industry-standard encryption and provide the FTC with ongoing reports on the notification program. The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to accept the consent agreement was 4-0. The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through Feb. 4, 2016, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit comments electronically. NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions for twenty years. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000. The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources. FTC Approves Final Order in Henry Schein Practice Solutions Case Jay Mayfield Jessica Lyon Kristin Madigan Henry Schein Practice Solutions, Inc., In the Matter of Henry Schein Practice Solutions, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment Blog: FTC takes on toothless encryption claims for dental practice software Video: Start with Security: Store Information Securely Privacy and Security Enforcement	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1225
__label__wiki	0.926892	0.926892	Andrew Gillum wants $1 billion more for education John Kennedy GateHouse Capital Bureau @JKennedyReport Sep 15, 2018 at 5:23 PM Sep 15, 2018 at 10:54 PM Democratic candidate for governor of Florida seeks 40 hike in business taxes TALLAHASSEE — A tax Republican Gov. Rick Scott once campaigned on eliminating has emerged as a big dollar, central clash between the candidates fighting to succeed him. In a move setting him apart from usually tax-averse Florida candidates, Democrat Andrew Gillum has called for a stunning 40 percent increase in Florida’s corporate income tax — which he wants to use to raise $1 billion more for education, including $50,000 minimum starting salaries for teachers. The Republican Governors Association is now seizing on the idea, ridiculing it in a new TV spot as a “disaster for the economy.” Florida’s biggest business groups also have begun sharpening their attacks. “National headquarters of companies in this state are focused on this like a laser beam,” said Tom Feeney, a former Republican Florida House speaker and president of Associated Industries of Florida, whose members include some of the state’s biggest companies. He said Gillum’s proposal has spawned “terror” in board rooms and is fueling business support for Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis, who has said little about his economic plans, other than embracing most of the tax-and-regulation-cutting policies advanced by Scott over the past eight years. “Punishing corporations by taking money out of the pockets of job-creators is going to have a chilling effect on this state’s economy,” Feeney added. Gillum, though, defends the tax. In a debate last month, he pointed out that Florida’s 5.5 percent tax on corporate income is less than that levied by neighboring Georgia and Alabama. Gillum also assured that he had no plans to tax “everyday Floridians.” “Florida cannot be a cheap date and still be the state that is deserving of our children,” said Gillum, who wants to boost the tax to 7.75 percent. “I believe that corporations have to pay their fair share.” Running openly as a political progressive, Gillum’s corporate tax plan is part of an agenda that defies Florida’s two decades of Republican rule, and includes plans to expand Medicaid, boost the minimum wage to $15-an-hour, and legalize marijuana. He’s also delivering a sharp rebuke to Scott, who campaigned in 2010 on a pledge that he would phase out the corporate tax. Still, the Republican-controlled Legislature largely ignored Scott, going along only with raising exemptions that took more than 12,000 smaller businesses off the tax rolls. Lawmakers said they were wary of losing dollars brought in by the tax. According to the state’s Department of Revenue, there are more than 200,000 businesses that have a corporate tax filing obligation, and the levy brings in $2.2 billion annually. It’s the state’s second biggest source of general revenue dollars, next to the $25 billion raised by the sales tax. “Florida’s Republicans have had the wrong priorities for years in Tallahassee,” said Geoff Burgan, a Gillum spokesman. “Nearly half our working families say they can’t make ends meet at the end of the month, yet our richest corporations continue to pay very little in corporate income tax.” But with the Legislature likely to remain Republican-controlled after the November elections, Gillum would face an enormous uphill fight in getting the tax approved — along with the rest of his agenda. “We definitely don’t see this as just a symbolic move by Gillum,” said Stephen Lawson, a DeSantis spokesman. “It’s very much in keeping with where he’s going in this campaign.” The Florida Constitution also requires 60 percent approval in both the House and Senate to increase the corporate income tax, making Gillum’s task even harder. Senate President-designate Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the idea undermines the state’s efforts to restore business confidence that was rattled by the recession. But he added that it is not something he has spent a lot of time worrying about. “I don’t see this happening,” Galvano said. “I don’t believe Andrew Gillum is going to become governor, and I don’t think this is an issue we’ll be dealing with.” Galvano added: “Campaign talk is a lot different from reality. We have to deal with reality in the Legislature.” Still, the tax is emerging as a bold dividing line — with the potential of rallying both supporters and critics. The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, quickly endorsed Gillum after backing second-place finisher Gwen Graham in the Democratic primary. In making the switch, FEA President Joanne McCall praised Gillum’s $1 billion proposal, saying: “For too long, Republicans have chronically underfunded our public schools and criminally underpaid our teachers.” The Florida Chamber of Commerce poured $100,000 into DeSantis’s campaign through a political committee soon after he won the Aug. 28 Republican primary, and is now stepping-up warnings against the tax plan. Edie Ousley, a Chamber spokeswoman, said that if Gillum’s proposal took effect, Florida would not only have the highest corporate tax rate in the Southeast – it would top New York’s. “How would that make Florida competitive?” Ousley said. “How would that grow jobs for our kids and grandkids?... It’s a failed approach that sounds popular as a talking point to rally votes, but in reality, it hurts the very voters the talking point panders to.” The clash over the corporate income tax has echoes in its origins. When Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew convinced voters to approve taxing corporations in 1971, he stumped the state with a pair of Sears shirts, one bought in Florida and the other in Georgia, which already had the tax. Askew pointed out the Georgia shirt actually cost less – arguing against business claims that companies would pass the added cost onto consumers. For his tax and open government reforms, Askew is now considered one of Florida’s most transformational governors. Gillum, Florida’s first black nominee for governor from a major party, also is campaigning for big change. Associated Industries helped lead the fight against Askew in 1971 and now Feeney, the group's president, says it is time to sound alarms about what a Gillum victory could mean. “When you have someone with proposals that others in the Legislature just won’t go along with, it becomes a death match. We’d be in for years of misery in Tallahassee,” Feeney said.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1228
__label__wiki	0.947951	0.947951	Rio 2016 Merchandise By gotosy, February 14, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Games gotosy 493 Rio 2016™ presents Olympic and Paralympic Games Licensing Programme the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games presented the Games Licensing Programme at the Rio 2016™ Licensing Kickoff Meeting at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum (MAM) on Tuesday, 14 February. A total of 150 companies from several sectors (clothes manufacturers, toys, school products and retail) interested in receiving a licence for manufacturing and selling the official products of the Games attended the event. Product licensing is not only a revenue stream for the staging of the Games but also an opportunity to promote the engagement of people in the Games and business opportunities for a wide range of companies. Rio 2016™ estimates that the sale of official products will turn over R$ 1 billion in the Brazilian market. “The Olympic and Paralympic Games own the world’s most famous brands. We are offering a special opportunity for companies to associate themselves with these brands and eventually display their products at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, as relics of the Games. Licensed products are one more way to enable all Brazilians to take part in the Games,” Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of Rio 2016™, said. Rio 2016™ aims to reach a total of 60 licensed companies, 12,000 products developed and 6,000 points of sale. Between 2014 and 2016 over 150 official shops will be opened in places such as airports, kiosks, shopping centres, hotels, the Olympic and Paralympic Village and all venues of the Games. Approximately 80% of the shops will be in Rio de Janeiro and the others will be located in key cities of Brazil. A megastore is also projected to be built on the sands of Copacabana Beach. The brands to be licensed will be those of the Rio 2016™ Olympic Games, Rio 2016™ Paralympic Games and Team Brazil. The pictograms, to be launched next year, and the mascots, which will be unveiled in 2014, will also be used as prints for official products. The first official products will be for sale at a shop to be installed at Casa Brasil in London, UK, during this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. The first category of products that will be licensed is collectibles (coins, stamps and pins); next, clothing (amounting to half of the revenues from licensing), in 2013; and hardlines (such as stationery, toys and home products), in the second semester of 2014. “Our planning was intended to enable all segments of the market to associate themselves with the Games. Our products will range from luxury to the most affordable ones. Their launches will be projected to make the value of the Games brands reach its peak in 2016,” Sylmara Multini, General Manager of Licensing, Retail and Concessions of the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, explained. Sir Rols 1889 Yodelayee-yodelayeehoo Olympic megatore on Copacabana Beach unveiled as Rio 2016 launch $750 million licensing programme February 15 - A megastore on Copacabana Beach is to be set-up as part of a $750 million (£479 million/€573 million) licensing programme launched by Rio 2016, it has been announced. The programme was unveiled at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum with 150 different companies in attendance to express a preliminary interest in becoming licensees for manufacturing and selling official products of the Olympics and Paralympics. "The Olympic and Paralympic Games have the world's most recognised brands," said Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman. "We are offering a unique opportunity for companies to associate themselves with these brands and eventually have their products displayed at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, as relics of the Games. "Also, licensed products are yet another way to enable all Brazilians to take part in the event." In addition to bringing in a large part of the revenues required to stage the Games, the Licensing Programme is a chance to promote the involvement of the public in the Olympic and Paralympics and to generate business opportunities for a wide range of sectors including clothing, toys, school supplies and retail. Rio 2016 aims to reach a total of 60 licensed companies with 12,000 products developed and 6,000 points of sale. Between 2014 and 2016, over 150 official shops will be opened in places such as airports, shopping centres kiosks, hotels, the Olympic and Paralympic Village and every venue of the Games. Approximately 80 per cent of the shops will be in Rio de Janeiro and the others will be located in key cities of the country. A megastore is also planned to be built on the sands of Copacabana Beach, one of the most iconic landmarks in Brazil and which is due to host the beach volleyball during the Games. It is expected to be a magnet for visitors during the Games. The emblems to be licensed will be those of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team Brazil. The pictograms, to be launched next year, and the mascots, which will be unveiled in 2014, will also be displayed on official products. The first official products will be sold at a shop to be set up at the Brazil House at the London 2012 Games. Like London they will be hoping to find a product like the red mittens at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver which capture the imagination of the country. The first product area to be licensed is collectibles such as coins, stamps and lapel pins. This will be followed by clothing, which will amount to half of licensing revenues, in 2013 and hardlines such as stationery, toys and home products in the second half of 2014. "Our planning aims to enable all segments of the market to associate themselves with the Games," said Rio 2016's head of licensing, retail and concessions Sylmara Multini (pictured). "Our products will range from luxury to the most affordable ones. "The launches will be timed to make the Games brands' value reach its peak in 2016." Insidethegames Nike has won the race to become official partners of Rio 2016 and all Brazilian national sports teams as part of a landmark agreement that also partially covers the London 2012 Games, it has been reported today. The deal gives Nike its first official Olympic Organising Committee sponsorship since the Sydney 2000 Games, strengthening its brand in a country that will be the focus of the sporting world at both the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics and Paralympics two years later. Under the terms of the four-year deal, reported by SportBusiness Journal, Nike will receive marketing and licensing rights to the Rio Games and will fit out all Brazilian national teams – except volleyball, which is sponsored by Brazilian sportswear brand Olympikus – both for Rio and this summer's London Games. How much the deal is worth has not been divulged but sources valued it as somewhere between $25 million (£16 million/€19 million) and $40 million (£25 million/€30 million) http://www.insidethe...l-with-rio-2016 The first Rio 2016 official products at Casa Brasil in London menegazfelipe 43 Location:Florianópolis, Brazil Wow, the new website has a great look! Athensfan 1081 Flag Bearer Level 8 I like Rio's color palette and I'm expecting a gorgeous Olympic Look from them. I still vastly prefer the bid logo to the Olympic logo, but you can't have everything. The bid logo was going to be virtually impossible to improve on anyway. I loved it. Rob. 2034 Torch Bearer 10000 Club Location:London-ish It's funny how things go in cycles thinking about it. I expect London to pull of a very Sydney-esque Games, I really think Rio will feel like Athens' Games in many ways and with Tokyo leading the way it could be we see a Beijing-style Games in 2020. Shame about the Nike deal. Since seeing a documentary on their labour practices a decade or so ago I've never bought any Nike products, so I guess Rio will be missing out on my ££. But to end this post on a positive, liking the new website. Edited July 21, 2012 by RobH olympian.br 11 I think the mood of the 2016 games will be much more like in the vein of the 2000 games. Both countries are southern sunny places known for their gorgeous nature scenery and their fun-loving people. Brazilian Central Bank announced on Thursday (26) that will launch on August, two commemorative coins in honor of the Olympic flag handover to Brazil. link (in portuguese) http://g1.globo.com/...a-olimpica.html DannyelBrazil 703 Proud to be Brazilian. Location:Born in Rio de Janeiro, living in Sao Paulo Interests:Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and to make friends around the world. Loved everything shown here in this thread!!! But I liked more the previous website... About the cycles, I couldn't agree more... London - Sydney Athens - Rio Beijing - Tokyo (if they win) Is everything from Rio 2016 made by Nike??? I thought only the sports material used by Brazilian athletes is provided by this company. munichfan 36 Location:near Ulm, Germany So you think adidas, Reebok and Puma produce differently? baron-pierreIV 1678 Cauldron Lighter 20000 Club I hope you don't copy their financial collapse as well. Let's check the facts... GDP: US$ 299 billion Debt: 170% of their GDP GDP: US$ 3 trillion Debt: 50% of our GDP (Also international creditor and puting money in IMF since 2009). Meh, not even worried... Errata: Brazilian GDP: 2,5 trillion (2011) Olympic Fan Darcy 319 I was saying Boo-urns Can't speak on behalf of Rob but i don't buy from any of those companies. They all probably use sweatshops only one i am fully aware that does is Nike. https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/workers-rights/are-your-clothes-made-in-sweatshops/ On here says that from Nike Adidas, Puma ,Fila and more use sweatshops or make the products in sweatshop like places. Get to know the Rio 2016 Games commemorative coins The coins will be put into circulation from August this year, featuring designs that celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games On Thursday 30th January, the Central Bank of Brazil presented the designs of 36 commemorative coins created in order to celebrate the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The package includes sixteen R$1 coins for regular circulation, and a further four gold and 16 silver coins. The first coins are expected to enter circulation in August this year, to be followed by three further launches, scheduled for February 2015, August 2015 and February 2016. Four new coins for regular circulation as well as four silver and one gold coin will be issued at each launch. The designs, which were approved by the National Monetary Council of Brazil (CMN in Portuguese), were produced by the Central Bank of Brazil and Brazilian Mint teams with technical support from the Rio 2016 Organising Committee. Check out the Rio 2016 Games commemorative coins below: The sixteen R$1 coins Detail of the silver coins The four gold coins Flip-flops help Rio to smash Olympic licensing record With reports of disused venues and allegedly suspicious payments being added in recent weeks to the catalogue of bad news stories relating to Rio 2016, you could be forgiven for thinking at times that last year's Summer Olympics and Paralympics were an unmitigated disaster. But it looks like the Brazilian organisers got at least one thing right: the merchandising of licensed Rio 2016 products. Figures in the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s recently-published Rio 2016 marketing report indicate that the South American city may have smashed the record for Games-related licensing revenue, generating nearly twice as much as Beijing 2008 and not far off triple London 2012's merchandising total. The marketing report states that the Rio 2016 programme, comprising more than 5,000 licensed products sold through more than 40,000 outlets around the country, generated "over BRL1 billion (£261 million/$321 million/€302 million) in retail sales to help support and promote the Olympic Games". Previously, according to the IOC’s Olympic Marketing Fact File, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 were the only Games, Summer or Winter, to have produced in excess of $100 million (£81 million/€94 million) for their respective Organising Committees, with the Chinese capital's $163 million (£133 million/€153 million) tally until now the highest. Rio 2016 flip-flops were said to be among the biggest sellers ©Getty Images London 2012 managed $119 million (£97 million/€112 million), while the best Winter Olympics to date is Vancouver 2010, whose famous red mittens helped propel licensing income to $51 million (£41 million/€48 million). The total from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics was $35 million (£28 million/€33 million). The new marketing report also discloses that, despite apparently sparse attendances for many events, Rio 2016 ticketing sales raised BRL1.235 billion (£323 million/$396 million/€373 million) for the Games operating budget, with 6.2 million tickets sold. This is more than double the sum produced by ticket sales for Beijing 2008, but is far below London 2012, which came within an ace of being the first Olympic Games to exceed $1 billion (£813 million/€941 million) from ticket sales, and is below even Atlanta 1996, which raised $425 million (£345 million/€400 million). Rio 2016 flip-flops were said to be among the biggest sellers on last year's programme. http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1047727/exclusive-flip-flops-help-rio-to-smash-olympic-licensing-record JMarkSnow2012 384 Location:Oop North 6 hours ago, gotosy said: There are one or two major errors in that report. To start with the least significant: the $119 million figure from the Olympic Marketing Fact File was calculated at pre-Brexit exchange rates from about 80 million Pounds Sterling; the £97 million is a conversion back to Pounds Sterling at post-Brexit exchange rates. Also not very significant, it would have been good of them to mention that (again per Fact File) London's nearly $ 1 billion ticket sales were generated by an unprecedented 97% sellout, some 8.2 million (just how Atlanta managed to offer 11 million tickets maybe the Baron can explain). BUT the really mind-boggling mistake is revealed when you compare the precise wording of the 2016 and 2012 Marketing Reports: Rio Marketing Report, page 111: "... a huge success, generating over R$ 1bn (over USD 300m) in retail sales to help support and promote the Olympic Games Rio 2016 ..." London Marketing Report, page 122: "the biggest and most comprehensive licensing programme in Olympic history, generating almost £1 billion in retail sales and raising over £80 million in revenue to support the staging of London 2012, while also promoting the Olympic Games ...." See what Rio did there? They skated over the figure for revenue to the OCOG, which, given that they didn't have China's government strong-arming licensees, will presumably be 10% or less of the total retail sales, quite possibly on the low side of $ 30 million. 30 minutes ago, JMarkSnow2012 said: it would have been good of them to mention that (again per Fact File) London's nearly $ 1 billion ticket sales were generated by an unprecedented 97% sellout, The 97% figure is quoted in London's Marketing Report (page 112). As a matter of interest, can anybody find the equivalent percentage (or total tickets offered) for Rio in their Marketing Report? zekekelso 792 I don't understand all the numbers, but I did get me some of them Havaianas, which were awesome and cheap souvenirs. On 06/03/2017 at 7:31 PM, JMarkSnow2012 said: What a difference an exchange rate makes! R$ 1 billion had been Rio's target for merchandise licensing income- but look how it was presented back in 2014: Rio Olympics Bet on Flip-Flops to Hit $420 Million Target Tariq Panja 13 October 2014, 21:47 BST 14 October 2014, 04:43 BST Organizers of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are banking on the popularity of flip-flops and a yet-to-be-announced cuddly mascot to help meet a target of 1 billion reais ($420 million) in total merchandise sales. The Rio 2016 organizing committee is halfway through completing 65 licensing agreements with companies that will produce and sell 12,000 games-related products, more than for any previous Olympics. About 16 percent of the total sales will go toward raising the 7 billion reais needed to stage the event. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-10-13/rio-olympics-bet-on-flip-flops-to-hit-420-million-target That figure of 16% to the OCOG is interesting, around double what was achieved in London. Given the evasiveness of the Marketing Report, I wonder if we'll ever find out whether it was realistic. 5 hours ago, JMarkSnow2012 said: What makes it even more interesting is what was achieved in Sydney and Athens: both ended up with around 10% of licensed merchandise income going to the OCOG. Also, a London licensee reported to the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2010/05/for_something_which_is_ultimat.html David Bond's Blog Will 2012 mascots be lucky for London? David Bond \| 10:17 UK time, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 [Comment] At 12:32 19th May 2010, capt_gravedigger wrote: ... as a company who has secured the rights to produce London 2012 merchandise, our (and a lot of other manufacturer's) royalty rate is 15%, plus a further 2% that we have to pay to LOCOG to pay for the marketing of the games. - which prompts serious puzzlement as to how the percentage actually realised was only around 8.2%. One answer would be confusion between wholesale and retail pricing. 15%+2% on wholesale prices probably would be close to 8.2% on retail prices, so was the distinction always clear in the compilation of the Sydney and Athens statistics? Go To Topic Listing Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Games	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1230
__label__cc	0.527849	0.472151	ASI News 28 January 2009 January 28th, 2009 at 5:32 am EDT Click here to read online Cliff Kincaid President. America's Survival, Inc. www.usasurvival.org www.stopglobaltaxes.org Dear Friend of America’s Survival, Inc. You may have heard that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has launched a political action committee so that she can pursue a national political career. We do not take political positions on political strategies or political candidates, but we are concerned when a national figure such as Governor Palin demonstrates a seriously misguided view about an important treaty coming before the U.S. Senate. That is the case with the Alaska Governor’s support of the dangerous U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). On December 22 we wrote a letter to Governor Palin, asking her to examine the facts concerning the treaty. We have not received an answer to our letter. Can you help us get her attention on this matter? The telephone number 907- 465-3500 will take you directly to her office. Please ask the Governor to come out against the Law of the Sea Treaty. Bill McAllister, the Governor's Communications Director and Press Secretary, can also be contacted. He can be reached by phone at 907-269-7450 or by fax at 907-269-7463. Palin can also can be contacted through her “SARAHPAC” organization at 202-747-1812. Please ask that the Governor respond to the America’s Survival, Inc. December 22 letter to her regarding her support of the Law of the Sea Treaty. We argued that the United State already has a rightful claim to oil, gas, and mineral resources in the area near Alaska. We said it is a big mistake to rely on a U.N. treaty for access to them. Indeed, the U.N. would impose a global tax on countries and companies in order to get access to those resources. The U.N. could even deny our access to resources that we already have a claim to own. As we have argued in many different reports, the treaty is also a building block for world government. The Law of the Sea Treaty could come up before the Senate very quickly. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said it is a “priority” of the Obama Administration. Governor Sarah Palin could help stop it – if she takes the principled position of opposing this further transfer of American wealth to the U.N. Remember that much of our information about the measure is available in a special section on the left side of the home page of our website. For America, Cliff Kincaid, President Was this message forwarded to you by a friend? You can sign up for our Newsletter for FREE! Go here: http://www.usasurvival.org/mailing_list/ This is an online snapshot of a newsletter created by the owner of asinews (America's Survival Inc., www.usasurvival.org, 20736 Owings, United States) and sent via GetResponse on 2009-01-28. Report abuse	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1237
__label__cc	0.587032	0.412968	Oscar’s Guitar Shop Interview with David “Fuze” Fiuczynski August 15, 2013 May 22, 2017 Kyle Smitchens 0 Comments David “Fuze” Fiuczynski David Fiuczynski is the multi-faceted guitarist with the chops to play about any style you throw at him from the common genres like rock, jazz, and funk, to microtonal middle eastern styles. He’s been widely praised and greatly respected for his soulful playing, most notably from his performances in his band Screaming Headless Torsos, as well as a career as a session guitarist that spans 95 albums. Of these other bands he’s performed with, Fiuczynski is known for his works with Hiromi’s Sonicbloom, Hasidic New Way, Kif, Black Cherry Acid Lab, Gizmo, Hiromi Uehara, Planet Micro Jam, and Rudresh Mahanthappa. While Fiuczynski’s had been playing guitar since his formative years, his studies in music continued in greater detail at Hampshire Collecte and then at New England Conservatory where he would earn a Bachelors of Music. As he developed his style playing the double-neck guitar became more a trademark than something he did for one or two songs. Often concerts would be played entirely with one double-neck guitar. In addition to his career as a performing musician Fiuczynski is a full-time professor at the famous Berklee College of Music. Oscar speaks with Fiuczynksi about topics covering gear tastes, upcoming albums, microtonality, and topics like melodic development that yield a quote like: “I’ll have a student come to me and say “can you show me arpeggio playing”, what I tell them, look, at the end of this Weather Report tune called “Havona” there’s a really melodic arpeggio. I say, ‘let’s check this out. Let’s add a line. It’s kind of a B Phrygian thing. Now learn that learn that and learn to imitate that shape starting on the root, the flat 9, the flat 3, the 5, the flat 7. And do it in your own way, and do it very, very slowly. And then take it out of that musical context and let’s say put it into a blues, or something that you’re practicing with your band, or a tune you like. I don’t care if it’s a heavy metal player, or a bluegrass player. But they take this melodic development concept and they learn how to develop melodies.’” Fiuczynski also mentions the role personal health has in your guitar playing where he cites: “There a lot of very dedicated musicians and they don’t realize you have to take care of yourself. If you play, like, gigs and practice for more than four hours a day you’re practicing on an Olympic level. I unfortunately every semester I have one or two students who have playing related injuries, and they need to realize they have to exercise. They have to do something that’s counter to playing to keep their bodies in tuned. So, very important.” Oscar’s Guitar Shop The guitar-centric LA Talk Radio show Oscar’s Guitar Shop airs every Friday at 2:00 PM PST. If you’re like me and you have a day job that disregards your need for a social life you can download the show the next day for free here on iTunes. Current and archived episodes are available for download as well if you go to the podcast section on iTunes and subscribe to Oscar’s Guitar Shop. Oscar’s Guitar Shop is also available at Stitcher.com for Apple, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle devices. More from Oscar’s Guitar Shop Oz Noy Oscar’s Guitar Shop Interview with Oz Noy Oscar’s Guitar Shop Interview with Joe Satriani Paul Gilbert Interview on Oscar’s Guitar Shop ← Make That Strat Sound Hotter With These Pre-Wired Pickguards Taylor GS Mini Is Turning Heads—and Ears! → Kyle Smitchens Kyle Smitchens is the Guitar-Muse Managing Editor, super hero extraordinaire, and all around great guy. He has been playing guitar since his late teens and writing personal biographies almost as long. An appreciator of all music, his biggest influences include Tchaikovsky, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Steve Vai, Therion, and Jon Levasseur of Cryptopsy.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1239
__label__cc	0.66284	0.33716	George Lawrence "Larry" McTavish July 21, 1941 ~ May 8, 2018 (age 76) George Lawrence “Larry” McTavish, 76, of Franklin, TN died May 8, 2018 at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Born July 21, 1941 in Gallitzin the son of the late Francis L. and Kathleen (Carrig) McTavish. Preceded in death by a son Matthew on June 19, 1991, brothers Francis, Raymond, Charlie, and Ronnie. Survived by his beloved wife of 51 years the former Linda Phillips, a sister Cindy – Gallitzin brothers Tom (Cynthia) – Williamston, MI. and Jon (Carole) – Gallitzin and numerous nieces and nephews. A 1959 graduate of Gallitzin High School and a graduate of the University of Maryland. Larry served in the United States Air Force. Family and friends mourn the loss of a wonderful man. Larry was an interesting, intelligent and very successful business man who always made family and friends a priority. He always had an interesting story to tell with plenty of details and embellishments. Larry had many years of experience in the corporate world and became a valuable mentor to many people over the years. Family will greet child hood and high school friends from 9 am until time of Funeral Mass at 10 am Saturday May 19, 2018 at St. Demetrius Catholic Church, Gallitzin. Following mass a Committal Service will be held at St. Patrick Cemetery, Gallitzin. A Memorial Mass will be held at a later date in Nashville. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org/800-822-6344) Arrangements by Gibbons Funeral Home, 301 Church Street, Gallitzin, PA 16641. (www.gibbonsfunerals.com)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1240
__label__wiki	0.823488	0.823488	Andrew Bird at The Glee Andrew has become a top headline act up and down the UK as well as performing around the world from Dublin to Doha. He has also supported Rhod Gilbert and Lee Hurst on tour, and been the warm-up artist for TV shows including Nevermind The Buzzcocks, Room 101 and Pointless. Andrew is also a writer in demand having written for series such as 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Mock The Week. Andrew’s 2011 and 2012 Edinburgh were sold out and received glowing reviews across the board. You may have seen him as recent tour support for Michael McIntyre. Ha Ha Time (Tour 2019) Andrew Bird is the funniest comedian you’ve never heard of. He’s been tour support for Rhod Gilbert, Rob Brydon and Michael McIntyre including Wembley and the O2. He’s written on TV shows Jon Richardson’s Ultimate Worrier, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Lee Mack’s Duck Quacks Don’t Echo and is a regular guest on BBC Radio’s The Rhod Gilbert Show. If you like your comedy funny then join Andrew for a show jam-packed with observations and stories about marriage, parenthood and the petty grievances of modern life. What time is it? It’s Ha Ha Time! “Comedy gold...Bird’s going to be a star, catch him close-up now” “Very punctual” andrewbirdcomedian.com @a_tweety_bird AndrewBirdComedian	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1242
__label__cc	0.728498	0.271502	Survey of Antigua and Barbuda House Prices in Antigua and Barbuda More AG Antigua and Barbuda’s property market rebounds as investments pour in The property market has recovered. Construction is everywhere. The government has successfully attracted foreign demand through its Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP), offering full citizenship to foreign investors who invest at least US$400,000 in real estate. New residential developments are multiplying, and a new airport terminal is boosting tourism and offshore financial services (the US$45 million Airport Terminal, at VC Bird International Airport, became operational in August 2015). Antigua and Barbuda is renowned as a luxury holiday and wedding destination. It has 365 beaches – one for every day of the year. With gorgeous views, landscape and good property values, it is an ideal location for a second home, attracting celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Giorgio Armani, Richard Branson and Eric Clapton. It is now being promoted also for family-oriented vacations. An amazing number of construction projects are underway - amazing, given that the islands´ population is only 92,000: The US$2 billion Singulari development, Antigua and Barbuda’s first mega-resort, is expected to create 1,000 jobs. This 1,600-acre multi-hotel, residential and commercial project is being lauded as a major feather in the country’s tourism cap. Singulari spans 900 acres of land in the north of Antigua and 700 acres of tiny islands. It includes several luxury hotels, hundreds of private homes, a school, hospital, marinas, golf courses, an entertainment district, horse racing track and the Caribbean’s biggest casino. A new residential complex with over 200 condominium units costing US$400 million is expected to open next year. Sandals Resorts International (SRI) is expected to build a new 250-room hotel in Dickenson Bay, next to the Sandals Grande, and will begin building Beaches Resort this year; Sunwing Travel Group is developing a 500-room resort under the Royalton Luxury Resorts brand at Deep Bay, Antigua. A high-end residential development is being built on Maiden Island. A hotel resort is being built on Pelican Island. Replay Resorts intends to build a five-star hotel at Half-Moon Bay later this year. A new hotel resort at Long Bay will commence construction in the last quarter of this year. Yida International has started building 50 three- and four-bedroom villas on the mainland as part of the Guiana Island development project. A US$250 million hotel project on Barbuda is being developed by Hollywood actor Robert De Niro. The Bau Panel is building around 5,000 homes across Antigua and Barbuda at a cost around US$200 million. A brand new Sandals Beaches Resort will be built on the Grand Pineapple Resort. South Point, a boutique hotel, is to be situated in the Falmouth Harbour. There is also continued development of resort and residential tourism projects at Pearns Point, Harbour Island, Hodges Bay Club, Morris Bay, and Tamarind Heights. There are no official house price records in Antigua and Barbuda, and reliable information is hard to come by. But based on recent research by the Global Property Guide, not a lot has changed recently. Two-bedroom houses still average around US$350,000 while three-bedroom and up houses might cost about US$600,000. Tailor your overseas property investment strategy! Learn what returns you are likely to earn, and where are the best opportunities. Follow the latest developments in the international property markets through the Global Property Guide newsletter. Already Subscribed? Manage your subscription The tourism sector only fully recovered last year. During the boom years, house prices in Jumby Bay increased 60% to 100%, according to the Global Property Guide. However, the market was hit by the global financial crisis in 2008, halting the construction of several residential developments. Tourists stayed away – and since the nation’s economy is largely driven by tourism, real GDP went down and construction and foreign direct investment declined. In 2015, the economy expanded by a modest 2.15%, after GDP growth rates of 4.2% in 2014, 1.5% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2012, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Economic growth is projected to be 2% this year, and 2.4% in 2017. Citizenship for Investment Program approved residential developments The following residential developments have been approved by the government for the Citizenship by Investment Program: Daniel Bay, by Blueprint Development – set across 3.5 acres of prime, beachfront land situated within picturesque Willoughby Bay, on the southeast of the island. Only five luxury villas, with sizes between 5,000 and 9,000 square feet (sq. ft.) are built, with prices ranging from US$2.5 million to US$4.5 million. Nelson’s Retreat, by Blueprint Development – this boutique style development in the English Harbour comprises six ultra-modern apartments with unrivaled views of the historic Nelson’s Dockyard. The first-floor one-bedroom apartments are priced at US$695,000. The second-floor two-bedroom apartments are offered for US$975,000 while the third-floor two-bedroom apartments are priced at US$995,000. Nonsuch Bay Resort and Residences - located at the most eastern point of Antigua just 30 minutes from V.C Bird International airport outside Freetown, this five-star resort has some high quality apartment and villa accommodation in Marina Residences (188 one-bedroom fully-serviced suites), Hilltop Villas (26 plots for private villas ranging from 0.4 to 1.1 acres), Ayers Creek Residences (15 waterfront residences), and 64 hillside apartments and 8 beachfront cottages. A one-bedroom suite within Marina Residences is priced at US$400,000. South Point, by ROLS Limited - a boutique condo hotel in the yachting community of Falmouth Harbour, in St. Paul’s, Antigua. The development has five residential buildings housing 20 one-bedroom apartments and 3 two-bedroom penthouses. The prices of the apartments range from US$865,000 to US$885,000, while the penthouses are offered at US$1.9 million. Tamarind Hills, by Island Heights Limited – freehold villas, townhouses and apartments within a five star beachfront resort on Antigua’s glorious west coast. House prices range from US$475,000 to US$2.75 million. Other approved residential developments under the Citizenship by Investment Program: Project Developer Location Callalloo Project Al Caribi Developments Antigua Ltd Morris Bay, Old Road, St. Mary’s, Antigua Antigua Yacht Club Marina Resort Carlo Falcone English Harbour, St. Paul’s, Antigua Blue Waters Beach Hotel Carib Holdings LTD. Soldier Bay, Antigua Ocean Grand Corbkinnons Limited Dickenson Bay, Antigua, W.I. Pigeon Point Galley Bay Heights Falmouth, St. Paul’s, Antigua Hermitage Bay Antigua Hermitage Bay Hotel Limited Jennings Extension, St. Mary’s, Antigua W.I. Long Bay Hotel Jiahao Investment (Antigua & China) Limited St. John’s, Antigua Jolly Beach Hotel & Spa Jolly Beach Corporation Bolans, St. Mary’s, Antigua Tranquility Bay Antigua Jolly Beach Vacations Jolly Harbour, St. Mary’s, Antigua BluPearl at Hodges Bay JSN Development Group Limited Hodges Bay, St. George’s, Antigua W.I. Colibri Court (project), Jolly Harbour Marina Village KDI Development Limited Bolans, St. Mary’s, Antigua Emerald Springs Villas Kenneth and Hilda Meade Browns Bay, St. Philip, Antigua Coconut Beach Club & Resort Leisure World Properties Limited Yeptons Estate, St. John’s, Antigua Passion Village Macy Limited Valley Church, St. Mary’s, Antigua W.I. Sugar Ridge Villas Mongoose Developments Limited Tottenham Park, St. Mary’s, Antigua Dieppe Bay Villas Naple Developers Limited English Harbour, St. Paul’s, Antigua The Peninsula Nimbrick Limited Willikies, St. Phillip’s, Antigua W.I. Antigua Yacht Club Marina Ondeck Living Limited Falmouth Harbour Marina, Antigua Pearns Point, The Reserve & Hotel Orange Ltd Jolly Harbour, St. Mary’s, Antigua Light House Bay Resort Palm Beach Holding Company Limited Codrington, Barbuda Papaya Hotel & Spa Rendezvous Bay Real Estate Corporation Rendezvous Bay, Antigua Pleasure Cove Resort Ritcil Company Limited Runaway Bay, St. John’s, Antigua The Villas at St. James’s Club Segarva Limited Mamora Bay, St. Paul’s, Antigua Harbour Island Residences Stanhope Shepherd Limited Jolly Harbour, St. Mary’s, Antigua Elias and Salem Hadeed, Trafalgar Beach Resort Trafalgar Beach Resort Hideaway Beach, Yeptons, Antigua Verandah Estates Verandah Estates Limited Long Bay, St. Phillip’s, Antigua, W.I. Buccaneer Cove Development Waterfront Properties Limited Dickenson Bay, St. John’s, Antigua Hibiscus and Flamboyant Villas Whitegate Development Projects St. Mary’s, Antigua World of Indulgence Villas, Nonsuch Bay Resort World of Indulgence Hughes Point, St. Phillip, Antigua Maiden Island, Crump Peninsula Yida International Investment Antigua Ltd. Guiana Island, Crump Island, Antigua, W.I. Buying property in Antigua and Barbudas Foreign buyers are required to apply for an Alien’s Land Holding License, which usually takes up to four months to be approved. The license cost is about 5% of the value of the property being purchased. Buyers are required to pay 2.5% stamp duty on property transfers. As the country is small and mountainous, development is restricted and only a limited number of properties are available. Most are freehold. Land can be bought or leased from the government, which owns 55% of land in Antigua, or the private market (land ownership in Barbuda is prohibited). Mortgage market shrinking In 2015, the size of the mortgage market contracted to about 21.9% of GDP, down from 23.7% of GDP in 2014, according to the East Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). In the first quarter of 2016, the total outstanding loans for the acquisition of property dropped 4.9% y-o-y to XCD755.93 million (US$280 million), according to the ECCB. Loans for house and land purchase dropped 5.8% y-o-y to XCD230 million (US$85.19 million) Loans for home construction and renovation declined by 4.5% y-o-y to XCD525.9 million (US$194.8 million) Interest rates for residential mortgages in the twin-island state currently range from 6% to 13.5%. St. Lucia’s currency is pegged to the US dollar at XCD2.7 to US$1. Tourism-dependent economy Tourism accounts for about 60% of Antigua and Barbuda´s GDP, and 40% of investment. In 2015, visitor arrivals surged 13.8% to 909,660 people, according to the Antigua Statistics Office, with a 21.1% rise in cruise ship visitors but only a 0.5% rise in stay-overs. The economy expanded by 2.15%, after GDP growth rates of 4.2% in 2014, 1.5% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2012, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The islands achieved super-rapid growth from 2003 to 2007, when GDP grew an average of 7.2% a year and reached over 12% in 2006, due to a tourism and construction boom as the nation prepared to host the Cricket World Cup. However, during the financial crisis the economy contracted by 10.7% in 2009, by 8.5% in 2010, and by another 1.9% in 2011. The country’s gross debt has soared, reaching 102% of GDP in 2015, up from 87.1% in 2012. In Q1 2016, stay-over visitors were up by 13.5% - a good omen for the future. Visitors from the U.S. accounted for 38% of stay-over visitors in 2015, followed by Britons (31%), Caribbeans (11%) and Canadians (9%). Browne’s flagship housing project Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who took office on June 12, 2014, is determined to transform the country into an economic powerhouse. He also announced that the government will build 1,000 subsidized homes during Labour’s first term. The homes, which have market value of US$300,000, will be sold for just US$200,000. The government is also expected to offer homebuyers the option of low-interest mortgages from the Antigua and Barbuda Development Bank and commercial banks. “If they were placed on an open market the cost might be $300, 000, but since there is no cost built into the construction, and that the land is sold as the barest minimum, then the cost to the purchaser is greatly reduced, and that is called subsidized government housing,” said the government’s chief of staff Lionel Hurst. In July 2016, Browne unveiled a social housing development in the Villa and Point Communities, in partnership with the government of Mexico, which will provide a US$5 million grant. Two, three, and four-bedroom duplexes will be built. “The people of Point and Villa have been very patient in their wait for improved housing and now that wait has come to an end. Within the next five months, work will begin on the construction of several multi-floored duplexes for the residents of Booby Alley,” said Browne. Antigua and Barbuda’s property market rebounds as investments pour in - July 28, 2016 'Citizenship by Investment Program' to boost the property market in Antigua and Barbuda - August 12, 2015 Antigua and Barbuda - More data and information Antigua & Barbuda's house prices, rents, and letting income - real data! How expensive are houses in Antigua & Barbuda, compared to the rest of Caribbean? How much rent can be earned from Antigua & Barbuda's property, compared to the rest of Caribbean? Where to by property in Antigua & Barbuda Login or Register to submit a comment! In order to promote open and spam-free conversations, Global Property Guide moderates commetns on all articles. You can expect that your comment will be published within 24 hours.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1245
__label__wiki	0.905651	0.905651	Do you have valuable Star Wars toys in the attic? Damien Lucas Published: 06:00 Sunday 10 December 2017 With the latest instalment of Star Wars series ‘The Last Jedi’ due for release next week, the Force could be with Star Wars fans who have valuable vintage action figures. Indeed, the classic action figures can be worth tens of thousands of pounds, according to PromotionalCodes.org.uk, who have found the ten rarest and most sought-after. As well as the very first models of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobe with “double telescoping” light sabres, collectors also seek the near-legendary ‘rocket firing’ Boba Fett, ‘small head’ Han Solo and vinyl-caped Jawas. Classic action figures can change hands for close to £30k, making a discarded collection from the 1970s potentially worth more than the average UK house. The money saving website looked at how much the vintage 1970s and 80s dolls could fetch today and compiled a list of the ten rarest ones. The most valuable and sought-after figures are the “carded” ones, which still retain the printed cardboard backing of their original packaging. Original accessories, such as a blaster and cape for Princess Leia and lightsabre for Luke Skywalker, also increase the value. Figures also command higher prices when they are in good condition. A very rare Boba Fett from the 1970s, still sealed in its original packaging, sold for £26,040 last year at Vectis Auctions in Teesside. Previously, the auction house sold an R2-D2 toy dating back to the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back for £750. Both it and its original packaging were in near mint condition. A 1977 Jawa figure, also with its original packaging and in near-mint condition, fetched £620, while a 1980 Yoda with its package went for £320. Meanwhile, various other figures from the 1970s and 80s often go on eBay for around £70. The holy grails of Star Wars collectibles are the very first versions of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobe, which had “double telescoping” lightsabres. Other particularly rare figures include the “small head” Han Solo, which was replaced at an early stage for one with a larger head that looked more like actor Harrison Ford. There is also the semi-mystical “rocket firing Boba Fett” – one such figurine sold last year at Vectis for an unexpectedly low £18,600. More recently, Lego produced some valuable, limited edition minifigures of various Star Wars characters as giveaway prizes. These include a 14 karat gold C-3P0 and solid bronze models of Boba Fett – Lego made just five and four of these, respectively. Darren Williams of Promotionalcodes.org.uk said: “More than 300 million Star Wars action figures were sold between 1978 and 1985, so it’s safe to say there must be quite a lot that are still floating around in people’s possession. “It’s hard to say which toy is the most valuable, since it all depends on things like the condition of the toy, whether it still has its packaging and if so what condition that’s in and so on. “But if you do have a 1970s or 80s toy, it could potentially be worth a lot, so channel your inner mercenary Han Solo and get it valued.” Ten rarest original Star Wars toys “Double telescoping lightsabre” figures The very first action figures of Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobe and Luke Skywalker had lightsabres that extended twice to full length. These were quickly replaced for cost reasons and because the lightsabres were highly breakable. The Darth Vader double telescoping lightsabre figure is believed to be the rarest of the three, followed by Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker. Rocket firing Boba Fett This toy is almost legendary. An early Boba Fett prototype had a rocket that fired from its back, but did not go into mass production due to safety concerns. “Small head” Han Solo The very first Han Solo was discontinued early for not bearing a close enough resemblance Harrison Ford, and replaced by another version with a larger head. Vinyl cape Jawa The original “vinyl cape” Jawa model from 1978 is another rarity, having been swiftly replaced with a cloth-caped version. Blue Snaggletooth When creating this toy back in the day, manufacturer Kenner had only a black and white headshot to work from. It decided to make the creature blue, but then in the film the alien wore red and was half the height. The original Blue Snaggletooth is a collector’s item. Yak Face This is especially valuable in America, where it was never sold. It was the last action figure to be made before the line ceased in 1985. FX-7 Medical Droid It had just a few seconds of screen time in The Empire Strikes Back, but this model is a jewel for collectors. Vlix This little-known character is from the Star Wars spin-off show Droids. It is very rare - only one line of the Vlix model was produced, in Brazil. 1985 Anakin Skywalker There have been numerous recent Anakin Skywalker dolls, but the 1985 original is a rare collector’s item. White cloaked Bib Fortuna The Bib Fortuna figure had a brown cloak, but a few prototypes with white ones were produced.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1247
__label__wiki	0.605087	0.605087	China- A Brief Overview Introduction to China China has a long and interesting history. It is known today for its recent economic success and massive increases in exports over the past twenty years. But China also has a long and interesting history. This is the place where silkworms and tea were first cultivated, gunpowder was invented, paper was first produced, and a civil service system was created. Many of these Chinese advancements were spread around the world by way of the famous Silk Road. The Silk Road routes linked China with western Asia, Africa, and Europe. This page will focus on providing an overview of China. It will discuss the physical and human geography of China. Additionally, it will give a very brief overview of certain points in Chinese history. Finally, it will discuss the current situation in China and the way it has become one of the top economies in the world. The Geography of China China is a wide country that covers five time zones. It is slightly smaller than the United States, but the population is much larger. Most of China’s 1,379,302,771 people live along the eastern coast and North China Plain. This area is dominated by plains, river valleys, and other areas where people would want to live. To the west, the land is dominated by deserts, high plateaus, and mountain ranges. The world’s highest mountain range, the Himalaya Mountain Range, forms China’s southwestern border. Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is located here on China’s border with the country of Nepal. The second highest mountain in the world, K2, is located on China’s border with Pakistan. Bordering the Himalaya Mountains is the huge Tibet Plateau, usually referred to as the Tibetan Plateau. The Gobi Desert is located on the northern part of the country. This desert is located in both China and Mongolia and is known for the large amount of desert loess that blows across Asia. But arguably the most significant geography of China is its river. The Huang River, formally known as the Yellow River, is thought to be the location of China’s earliest civilizations. To the south is the Yangtze River, a major river that flows through central China and flows into the ocean north of Shanghai. Further south is the Mekong River. It originates in China before flowing through south-east Asia and into the ocean in Vietnam. Early Chinese Civilizations Archeological excavations have shown that early Chinese civilizations originated along the Huang River and the Huang River Valley. These people began to plant rice, which became a major part of their diet. Over time they spread out and created customs and traditions that became part of their culture. These early civilizations faced yearly flooding that would ravage homes and towns. Perhaps because of this the people started to form government structures that could attempt to tackle the flooding problem. Eventually, a dynasty came into being. While we know that the Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history, what we know about them is little due their existence before history was recorded. China's second dynasty was called the Shang Dynasty and they came to power around 1600 BC. The Shang were known for their outstanding use of bronze. They were also known for their use of oracle bones and turtle shells. Oracle bones refers to animal bones that had been cleaned, had small hallowed-out areas dug into the bone, and then engraved with special pictures or words. The words would normally be questions or predictions about the future. These hallowed-out areas of the bone would then be exposed to a hot rod that would crack the bone. The resulting cracks would then be "read" and messages from Shang ancestors could be interpreted. The answers were then carved into the bones. Interestingly, oracle bones are some of the earliest known written artifacts from the Shang Dynasty. Towards the end of the Shang Dynasty several different groups started to challenge the Shang for power. The Zhou Dynasties and the Rise of Silk The group that prevailed after the demise of the Shang was the Zhou Dynasty (pronounced like the English name Joe). Their dynasty would rule for over 800 years from about 1,000 BC to 256 BC. The Zhou have the distinction of being the longest ruling dynasty in Chinese history. This long period of time can be divided into two major periods- the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou. The Western Zhou were known for mainly being farmers. But, during this period the production of silk became a major industry. Sericulture - Silk Production Basics People have been raising silkworms and producing silk for thousands of years. Silk production is thought to have originated in China and then spread from there to Japan, other parts of Asia, and eventually to Europe. The production of silk is a lengthy process that first requires the growing of mulberry trees. This is an essential food of Bombyx morisilk, commonly referred to as silk worms. Silk worms hatch from eggs spend roughly 25 days in the larva stage as caterpillars. During this time the silk worm feeds on mulberry leaves and it molts several times. It then works to weave a cocoon and remains in this pupa stage for about ten to twelve days. After this period it emerges as a moth and eventually attempts to mate before it dies. It is during the cocoon stage of life that silk worms are collected to make silk. The cocoons are boiled to make the thread fibers separate and the silk threads are spun on a spool. The completed spools can then we woven to make silk garments. Eastern Zhou During the rule of the Zhou the capital city shifted east to the city of Luoyang and the rule of the Eastern Zhou began. Like the previous capital Luoyang was also located next to the Huang River. This period of history saw the rise of several advancements in Chinese history. Iron began to come into wide use and it was reflected in the weapons of the era. The rulers also directed the building of several canals and irrigation systems. This helped tackle the problem of flooding along the Huang River while also helping to increase food production. It was during this period that a major Chinese scholar and philosopher from Lu Province gained fame. His name was Kong Fuzi and he lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Kong Fuzi's name later became known in the western world as Confucius after Catholic Jesuit missionaries returned from China. Confucius lived during a turbulent time of China's history. The troubled times likely impacted his opinions and beliefs. During his life Confucius created a set of principles that has become to be known as Confucianism. These principles were a combination of moral codes and philosophies that prescribed how people should live their lives. He taught respect for rulers, respect for parents, and humility. The teachings of Confucius were eventually compiled and put into a book called the Analects. The Warring States Period During the rule of the various dynasties there were several other "states" that existed within the realm. Several of the major states during this time period were the Chu, Lu, Qi, Wei, Han, Sung, and the Qin. Technically, these states were under the rule of the dominant dynasty. But in reality, each of these states had their own ideas and often attempted to challenge the authority of ruling dynasty. These rivalries often resulted in clashes between the various state armies. During the time that is known as the "Warring States Period" these rivalries intensified as each tried to topple the Zhou and establish a new dominant dynasty. In fact, the Zhou Dynasty lost power and their was a gap in leadership until the next dynasty emerged to rule over the area. The Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty Out of this turbulent period arose the rule of another dynasty- the Qin (also known as the Ch'in). The other states had viewed the Qin from the west as being backward and unsophisticated. But, the Qin had made it their goal to become more powerful and to defeat the other states. The entire aristocratic structure was changed over time and nobility titles were awarded based on ability. This type of system is referred to as a meritocracy. With the Qin though, scholarly skills were less important than military skills and leadership. They also imposed a system of labor whereby people were expected to work for the good of the state on large state projects. Some people who excelled at their work were rewarded with plots of land after their service. This is the system that saw the rise of a new leader- Cheng. The new leader became the leader of his people when he was just thirteen years old. Before he started to govern on his own at the age of 22, several officials ruled in his name. During this time the officials waged war against other states. Cheng continued the work of the officials when he came of age and eventually all of the other states in 221 B.C. He then declared himself to be the emperor and changed his name to Qin Shi Huang Di. He is known for being a powerful and oftentimes harsh leader of his people. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to build long roads that helped to facilitate trade. They were also forced to begin construction of the Great Wall to protect China from barbarian invaders. It was during his reign that writing characters were standardized, as well weights and measures. The Great Wall of China stretches over 21,000 kilometers across northern China. The Great Wall follows the high ground over much of its length. The section shown in these pictures was built during the Ming Dynasty and has been restored. It is located north of Beijing. Guards were stationed all along the Great Wall. The lower section housed troops, while the upper levels were used as observation decks. Soldiers could communicate quickly with other posts by using fire, smoke, flags, and other means. Soldiers could move quickly between positions on the wall if necessary. The height of the wall varies, but many places are at least six meters above the ground. Guards on the wall took advantage of the terrain and height to prevent their enemies from threatening China. Archers armed with crossbows could fire down at invading soldiers from the walls. But Qin Shi Huang Di's fierce reputation is matched for the desire to live forever. He searched far and wide for a solution to aging and death. Ironically, his quest for eternal life may have actually been the cause of an early death. When he did die, he was buried with an army of terra cotta warriors that numbered in the thousands. The soldiers are in the form of kneeling archers, standing archers, cavalry soldiers with horses, and infantry warriors. A fascinating fact about the terra cotta warriors is that each of the figures is different than the others. Qin Shi Huang Di's tomb is located near the city Xi'an. By the time the Ch'in Dynasty ended in 207 B.C. they went down in history as the first empire of a unified China, the first Emperor in Chinese history, the builder of long roads for trade, and the dynasty that began building the Great Wall of China. But perhaps their biggest legacy is that the name of their Ch'in dynasty was used to form the name that we know them by today- China. The Han Dynasty The rapid fall of the Ch'in Dynasty was followed by the rise of the Han Dynasty. A basic concept throughout history is that ideas and technology spread via trade and travel to other cultures and societies. This too happened with the production techniques for producing silk. During the Han dynasty, 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., silk became the major export product. Over time an extensive network of trade routes called the Silk Road developed between China and Europe. The Han used established army garrisons along the route through China to protect the caravans from "barbarians" from the north and bandits. Although it is referred to as the Silk Road, it was actually a series of routes. One major route went through India and Iran, while another route ran parallel to it but was located farther north. But there were still more routes than this and some sea routes are considered part of the Silk Road. Caravans of camels and horses crossed over 4,600 miles (about 7,402 kilometers) through deserts and mountains to transport silk and other goods from China. European and western Asia products such as wool, gold, and horses were traded for the silk and sent back to China. Caravans and other travelers would often stay at caravanserais. The word caravanserai is derived from the Persian word khan (خان ) and means inn. The fall of the Han dynasty was followed by another period of disorder in which several groups competed for power. This period between the Han and the next dynasty, the Sui, is referred to as the Period of Disunion. Sui Dynasty The beginning of the Sui dynasty, pronounced SWAY, began when a ruler named Yang Jian unified China again in the year 589. China under the Sui occupied the eastern portion of modern-day China. Although it did not last long, the Sui dynasty did usher in a period of increased trade in and around China. They also began working on a series of canal projects that would have a lasting impact on China. The largest of these projects was the creation of the Grand Canal. Only a portion of the canal was completed by the time the Sui dynasty fell in 618. The Tang dynasty came to power after the fall of the Sui dynasty. It was ruled from the largest city in China during that period, Chang'an (chang-AHN). Over time the name of the city changed to Xi'an. It was a major city for trade and goods were transported over long distances. Tang rule in China was characterized by artistic and cultural achievements. Gunpowder, woodblock printing, and porcelain were invented during this time. Porcelain, silk, jade, rice, and tea were all traded with many distant lands. To accommodate an increase in trade, the Grand Canal was extended and other canals were built. The compass, invented during an earlier period, was also perfected to allow Chinese vessels to travel long distances. China's size increased during the rule of the Tang and expanded to the west to include the Tian Shan Mountains and the Taklimakan Desert. A major event in Chinese history occurred during the rule of the Tank. Empress Wu, the only woman to ever rule China, governed the country for nearly 50 years. Tang rule ended in 907 after nearly 300 years in power. After another short period of disorder followed before the Song dynasty came to power. They too would rule for approximately 300 years until the year 1279. During their reign movable type was invented and paper money began to be used. It was also during this time that the concept of a civil service system was created. It operated under the idea that the most talented and educated people should work for the government. This was accomplished by having people compete for government jobs by taking civil service exams. Students often studied for many years before taking the exams. The concept of a civil service system is still used today and has spread throughout the world. The Mongols (Yuan Dynasty) While China was thriving there was another empire that was getting stronger to the north- Mongol Empire. The Mongols had a long history of being nomadic. They were known for being skilled horsemen and warriors who traveled easily across the steppe of Mongolia. They were led in their expansion by a powerful warrior named Temujin, who they renamed Temujin Genghis Khan (universal leader). He succeeded in unifying Mongolia in 1206 in what is now modern Mongolia. The reputation of the fierce Mongol warriors grew as they traveled west along the steppe that stretches from Mongolia to Hungary. Along the way they defeated all of the armies in the path. Towns and armies that failed to surrender were destroyed. Those that did surrender were taken over and their men were forced to join the Mongol army. Eventually they made their way to Hungary in Europe. A smaller Mongol force moved northwest in 1241 and defeated a Polish army at the Battle of Legnica. Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan, continued the family tradition when he defeated the people of southern China, eastern Vietnam, and parts of Burma (modern-day Myanmar). Kublai Khan attempted to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281 using a combination of Chinese and Korean coastal vessels. These two attempts involved thousands of ships. Unfortunately for the Mongols, these attacks occurred during the late summer and fall when powerful typhoons (tropical cyclones) tend to occur in Japan. Both invasion fleets are said to have been destroyed by the typhoons as they were attacking Japan's Kyushu Island. This gave rise to the legend of the kamikazi, divine winds that are believed to destroy Japan's enemies. Kublai Khan was more successful in defeating the ruling Song Dynasty of China in 1280. At this point in history the Mongol rule of China became knows as the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Empire worked to improve the road system so that trade could be increased, as well as profits. During this period, the Silk Road continued to be busy with trade moving east and west. As is the case with all empires, the power of the Yuan Dynasty waned over time and they were replaced by yet another dynasty- the Ming. The reign of the Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368 to 1644. To put that in perspective, it is the same time period that Johannes Gutenberg improved movable type for printing and Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas. The famous explorer from Venice, Marco Polo, traveled the Silk Road and visited China during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. Polo spent 17 years in China during the late 1200s. After he returned he wrote of what he had seen and experienced in Eastern Asia. Polo is credited with being the first European to write about East Asia in detail during this period. In fact, knowledge of China and East Asia was so limited that many people thought his descriptions were fiction. It is likely that Polo brought silk back when he returned to Venice. Zhu Di was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. During his reign, from 1402 to 1424, he was referred to as the Yongle Emperor. He is credited with moving the capital back to Beijing from Nanjing and for sending Admiral Zheng He on his expeditions. The Ming Tombs, located near the Tianshou Mountains in Changling, is where the 13 Ming Emperors are buried. The Ming Tombs were able to demonstrate that they had "outstanding universal value" and the tombs were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003. This model ship is on display at the Ming Tombs in Changling. This type was the largest ship used during the seven voyages headed by Admiral Zheng He. The ship was advanced for the time period and was over 138 meters long. The rule of the Ming Dynasty in China is known as a time of cultural and technological achievements. Major upgrades to the Great Wall of China were made to make it stronger and more effective. In fact, most tourists who visit the Great Wall of China visit the restored parts north of the Ming capital city of Beijing. The improvements to the Great Wall of China were part of the Ming's efforts to push the Mongols back to the north in modern-day Mongolia. They generally succeeded in this, but they needed to improve the wall to keep the Mongols and other groups out of China. Another way that China connected with the outside world was with the use of its large naval armada. These diplomatic and trade missions were headed by Admiral Zheng He. From 1405 to 1433 he made seven trips from China. Zheng He’s fleet of ships were the most advanced and largest vessels in the world at that time. The fleets included up to 60 ships and were intended to show the wealth and power of China. They ventured to ports throughout Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the north-eastern coast of Africa. Many of the ships were loaded with gifts from the Emperor: tea, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, and other items. In return, the countries that they visited were encouraged to send gifts back to the Emperor. The voyages were successful in spreading knowledge about China and increasing their prestige. Ornate Roof at the Forbidden City in Beijing The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City The Hall of Central Harmony in the Outer Court of the Forbidden City Among the greatest accomplishments of the Ming Dynasty was construction of the new imperial palace – the Forbidden City. As the name reflects, it was a place that few common people of the time could visit. It was the main residence of the Emperor and his family during the reign of 14 Ming and 10 Qing Dynasties (1416-1911). It was also the workplace of the bureaucrats that managed the affairs of the empire. Built in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City was more than just a palace, it was fortress. As such, it is surrounded by a moat that is 52 meters wide and has a perimeter wall that is 10 meters high. Within the walls are several large buildings that are referred to as “halls.” The largest of these is called the Hall of Supreme Harmony and it was used during major celebrations. It is no wonder that the Forbidden City has nearly 9,000 rooms! The Chinese began to take steps to preserve the Forbidden City in the 1920s. In doing so, it showed the importance of the Forbidden City to the Chinese people. Over time, it was transformed into a museum. It was later recognized by the world when it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. As is the case with all UNESCO World Heritage sites, it meets the requirement of having “outstanding universal value.” UNESCO emphasized the important of the Forbidden City because it “is the supreme model in the development of ancient Chinese palaces, providing insight into the social development of late dynastic China, especially the ritual and court culture.” While they began their reign by voyaging far and wide for trade, this changed over time and they began to think negatively of foreigners. A policy of isolationism was imposed by the Emperor and trade with other countries came to a stop. This xenophobia marked the latter half of the Ming hold on power. The Ming slowly declined in power and began to face pressure from different groups. In 1644 the Manchurians, from the northeastern part of China, succeeded in toppling the Ming. The rule of the Manchurians, known as the Qing Dynasty, lasted until the fall of the imperial system in 1911. Modern China The official name of China is the People's Republic of China. China has over a billion citizens, many of whom live in the eastern half of the country. Although the country is very large, the entire country lies within one time zone. When most people think about China they likely think about inexpensive products that are available at their local stores. This perception is probably due to the fact that China is an “emerging economy.” It is a country that is in the process of developing and modernizing its economy. As such, their workers provide labor that is much cheaper than in developed countries and makes their products cheaper. All the while it is allowing millions of people in China to improve their economic status and improve their lives. China is now ranked as the second largest economy in the world (after the USA). Great Hall of the People Facing Tiananmen Square The National Flag in Tiananmen Square An Army Guard in Tiananmen Square The current name of the country, a people’s republic, is a dead giveaway that they have a communist form of government. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls every aspect of the government in China. China’s legislature meets in the Great Hall of the People, located on the west side of Tiananmen Square. It was completed in 1959 and it is the meeting place of representatives from around China. Interestingly, China considers Taiwan to be its 23rd province and it reserves a room for it within the Great Hall of the People. It is important to understand that communism is very different from the various forms of democratic government. In communism, the communist party runs the government and the economy. In other words, everything that is done is done in accordance with the wishes of the communist party itself. In some cases there are elections, but the candidates are either part of or approved by the communist party. The president and vice president are indirectly elected by the 2,952 members of the National People's Congress. The term in office for these offices is five years. In March of 2018 the National People's Congress voted to amend the constitution and end the policy of term limits for the nation’s leader. Thus, any person who opposes the government and its policies is actually opposing the party itself. This is what protesters were up against in 1989. Thousands of pro-democracy protesters, many of them university students, demonstrated for several weeks during the spring of 1989. The Chinese Government responded by declaring martial law and sending in thousands of troops and tanks. One man made news around the world when he stood in front of a column of tanks to keep them from moving forward. The Chinese Government succeeded in ending the protest, but at least 241 people died and thousands were injured. Many of the protest participants ended up going to prison. To this day it is still illegal to commemorate the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Tiananmen Gate (also known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace) - This massive gate was originally built in 1417, but it had to be rebuilt following a fire. The National Museum of China - Thousands of artifacts from China's history are on display in the museum. Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square - This granite obelisk is located in the center of Tiananmen Square and it pays tribute to China's heroes from the 1800s and 1900s. Tiananmen Square is located in central Beijing and said to be the largest public square in the world. It is similar to the Mall in Washington, D.C. in that it is a large public area with government buildings and museums surrounding it. The square gets its name from the large Tiananmen Gate (also known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace) that leads to the Forbidden City. The Gate is located on the north side of Tiananmen Square and it is perhaps the best known Chinese building in the world. This is likely due to the fact that there is a huge iconic portrait of Communist China’s most famous revolutionary leader, Mao Zedong, hanging there. He ushered in the communist era when he came to power in 1949. The Portrait of Mao Zedong on the Gate of Heavenly Peace In Tiananmen Square - People throughout China refer to him as Chairman Mao. He led China from the time that the communists came to power in 1949 until his death in 1976. A Large Revolutionary Statue Next to Chairman Mao's Mausoleum - This type of revolutionary art is common in communist countries. The art celebrates the triumph of communist peasant workers and soldiers. Chairman Mao's Mausoleum in Tiananmen Square in Beijing - Mao's body has been preserved and lies in an air conditioned display. Thousands pay their respects to the deceased leader every day. Cameras are strictly prohibited!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1250
__label__cc	0.729197	0.270803	Biblical Guidelines Regarding Finance Dr. John Jackson Wealth and money are often points of division that simply should not be! A rich man learned that he would die in a few days. He called his three friends: a doctor, preacher, and lawyer to his bedside. He said, "The preacher has told me that you can't take it with you, but I believe I have worked out a way so that I can. Doc tells me that I won't live long, so I have prepared three sealed envelopes, each containing $10,000. When I die, I want each of you to walk by the casket and drop in your envelope with the $10,000." A short time later, they attended his funeral and then met together. The preacher said, "I've got a confession to make. We've been needing to repair the organ in the church for a long time, and I took $2,000 out of Bill's envelope and used it on the organ." The doctor said, "This makes it easier for me, because I took $5,000 out and used it for my new clinic and only dropped in $5,000." The lawyer said, "Well, my conscience is clear. I did just what Bill said. I kept my envelope, picked up both of yours and dropped in a check for the whole amount of $30,000." A Sunday school teacher told his class the story of the rich man who was lost and the poor beggar who was saved. He explained how the heartless one, arrayed in "purple and fine linen" and having everything he desired, ended up in the flames of Hades. The sick and destitute believer, however, found God's comfort and blessed fellowship with the saints in Paradise when he died. The teacher then inquired, "Now, which would you rather be, boys the rich man or Lazarus?" One young fellow replied, "I'd want to be the rich man while I was living and Lazarus when I died. Ours is a technologically driven, fast paced, change oriented, multi-dimensional world. Keeping up with today’s pace and preserving your priorities, purpose, and passion is a challenging assignment. But, because we are committed to an understanding that the Scriptures are God’s timeless truths and principles are more important than facts, we are looking to this source-book as our guide for living on the edge of the 21st century. “Sixteen out of thirty-eight of Christ's parables deal with money; more is said in the New Testament about money than Heaven and hell combined; five times more is said about money than prayer; and where there are five hundred-plus verses on both prayer and faith, there are over two thousand verses dealing with money and possessions." (John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California). How we deal with wealth, and what we do as we stand at the edge of a new millennium is our topic for the day. James 2:1-4, 8-9 "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts...If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." The church must not discriminate on the basis of wealth, because then we are indicating that our highest value is things, not people. Wealth and money are often points of division that simply should not be! And yet, the 21st century is bringing some difficult changes: -Economic dislocation: 1900, 40 out of every 100 workers produced raw food, today 3 of every hundred to feed 3 times as many people. Between 1980 & 1992, steel industry employment dropped from 400,000 to 180,000, but in the 1990’s the industry makes about the same amount of steel with less than ½ the workforce. -Wage disparities: 1992 earnings for high school graduate were $18,737, Bachelors degree was $32,629, doctorate was $54,904. In 1949, a 30 year old man could be expected to pay 14% of his monthly earnings to mortgage, 21% in 1973 and 44% in 1983 -Technological gap…estimated that 80% of the jobs available in the United States w/in 20 years will be cerebral and only 20% manual, the exact opposite of the ratio in 1900. There are already more computer literate first graders than computer literate first grade teachers. Can you beat a six year old at Nintendo?”(Jennifer Jones, Thinking in the Future Tense) -Revenue concerns for federal, state, local communities…1800 the per capita public debt in the US. was $15.87, in 1900 it was $16.60, in 1950 it was $1688.30, in 1980 it was $3969.66, and in 1994 it was $17,805.64. This squeeze may indeed directly and indirectly affect the church of the future as it relates to charitable contributions deductions and property tax exemptions. God always provides principles and truths for our benefit and growth; as such we can be prepared for the 21st century. James 2:12-14 "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" More Sermon Clips Add To Library Add to My Devotionals Favorite Share Like 72 Wealth and money are often points of division that simply should not be! By Dr. John Jackson via iDisciple Wealth Should Be Shared, Not Hoarded The Ultimate Financial Advisor Dave Wyrtzen 7 Biblical Principles on Finances The Rich, Young Ruler Back to the Bible True or False?	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1254
__label__wiki	0.721551	0.721551	Goomba Stomp NXpress Nintendo Podcast Before the Internet Game Boys Anime Ichiban Podcast ‘Love, Death + Robots’ Is One (Very) Small Step For Sci-Fi Mitchell Ryan Akhurst Having begun life as David Fincher and Tim Miller’s failed Heavy Metal movie reboot, Love, Death + Robots is a newly animated science fiction anthology series on Netflix. Billed as ‘adult’ sci-fi, the Heavy Metal connection was enough to get me excited, and the Netflix connection was enough to help temper those expectations. Still, hope can be a terrible monkey’s paw; the dreaded “you got what you asked for, but was it what you wanted?” “Love, Death + Robots is held back by its origins as a Heavy Metal reboot, as well as occupying a weird middle ground between technical showcase and actual speculative fiction content.” Shortly before the show was revealed, some friends and I were talking about how a lot of modern science fiction was lacking in metal: metal of the heavy variety. I mentioned how great it would be to see an original science fiction anthology series, but one that was not so tied down to specific voice and theme, or at least one that could really take advantage of a visual medium in the way that Heavy Metal comics can. As a lifelong lover and sometimes writer of speculative fiction, I have always wished to see cinema and television take greater advantage of the breadth of possibilities that sci-fi, fantasy, and horror can offer. However, the bigger the project and the greater number of people required to produce it, the slimmer the bandwidth there is to represent these myriad possibilities. Case in point, the biggest and most successful examples of cinematic sci-fi still tend to be action movies—ticket sales favored Independence Day over Ex Machina. Well, Love, Death + Robots has arrived, and although it has its remarkable qualities, it manages to be neither fish nor fowl when it comes to great science fiction. First, though, one thing must be made clear: Love, Death + Robots is exactly what it says on the tin. No one can complain that we did not get a modern rendition of the classic science fiction anthology series concept. The hard part is whether or not the content of the anthology really sings. Having avoided the trailers before watching it, imagine my surprise to find that almost every one of Love, Death + Robots’ eighteen episodes is based on the work of a well-known sci-fi author. There’s a distinct, warm glow one feels to see writers such as Peter F. Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds finally brought to the television-watching public, even though any story feels a bit generic when pushed through the filter of CGI. On the one hand, skillful adaptation of prose science fiction is a proud tradition, but on the other Love, Death + Robots is held back by its origins as a Heavy Metal reboot, as well as occupying a weird middle ground between technical showcase and actual speculative fiction content. Like so much cinematic sci-fi, the priorities sit squarely with aspects of presentation rather than ideas, an approach that benefits some stories but absolutely kills others. Take the first episode, “Sonnie’s Edge”, based on a story by Peter F. Hamilton. The fact that the series’s best stories are also the most visually stylized might raise the question as to why this Halo-cutscene-looking episode was chosen as the vanguard, but here we are. The short smartly hands a large chunk of its running time to the battle between two genetically-altered “beasties”, before laying down the first of the show’s many twist endings (I never said there wasn’t a pattern to these sorts of stories!). The problem is that in the first five minutes, an important story track is delivered through voice over, rather than action, as the gladiator fight is later in the episode. Sonnie, the “driver” of a gladiator monster, was found left for dead after being attacked and raped, causing her untold injuries, as well as fueling a fit of anger that apparently gives her an ‘edge’ (trying to stay relatively spoiler-free here, everyone). In prose, reported backstory works because whether the information comes from a character or the narrator, the reader tends to take what they are told for granted—this is why the ‘unreliable narrator’ trope works so well in prose, and why visual media such as film and television have to employ different, complicated tricks to pull it off. In the adaptation, however, voice over is frowned upon—the common wisdom is to show, not tell. Because of this, reported backstory is instead usually depicted firsthand within the action of the film. In a case like “Sonnie’s Edge”, simply telling the audience that a character was assaulted, instead of dramatizing the event, comes off as disingenuous. At worst, these character details seem like quick cheats: insensitive and exploitative when not handled with appropriate care. Such a disconnect between what works in prose science fiction and what works for the screen then pervades the remaining episodes—sometimes less so, and sometimes just as badly. The most impressively animated short, “The Witness”, avoids the disconnect entirely as it is an original work for the screen by Alberto Mielgo, whose style of “motionography” blends the real and the comic-book-like nothing else. The trade-off in “The Witness”, then, is that the narrative is pat and unimaginative. But this sleazy and amazingly designed short is also closer to the Heavy Metal of it all, because the Heavy Metal comics were so often great artistic presentations—much more than they were great works of speculative fiction. One of the better shorts, “The Witness” still plays around with familiar visual motifs and tropes of Heavy Metal wannabes. Gratuitous nudity, an obsession with sex work, and graphic sexist violence is par for the course in visual science fiction, unfortunately. As the series goes on, so too are down-home ranchers in mechs, robots pondering their strange human creators, and werewolf power fantasies. It brings to mind the funny delay effect between sci-fi in print and sci-fi on screen; most of the show feels like it comes from the turn of the millennium. I’m not going to complain about that, as some of this is my jam, but it also means that there’s not a whole lot new for gamers, comics readers, or just general sci-fi buffs. The ‘wow’ comes in the technical presentation of these well-worn tropes, not the ideas themselves. There is quite a wow. Whether as a cartoon, or photoreal, or with CGI models painted to look like 2D animation, every short has something interesting to see, though the aforementioned gamers and comics readers are likely to have seen it before. For the NSFW crowd, there’s plenty of blood, guts, gore, bare breasts and hanging dongs, if you are into that sort of thing. I realize that this ended up sounding much more negative than I thought it would, and I do not mean to shit on the fantastic craft in Love, Death + Robots. It is just that—like so many other “almost there” Netflix shows—what is offered is really nothing that can’t be watched, played or read in a purer and more interesting form elsewhere. After watching three-ish hours of cool science-fiction aesthetics, I can heartily recommend the show to viewers who don’t mind leaving their brain behind, even if they will forget that they saw it shortly afterwards. But if you’ve read the stories that these shorts are based on, you will probably feel too far ahead of the show to properly enjoy what it is doing. Worse, if you are looking for something that takes advantage of the medium (instead of taking material from one medium and retrofitting it for another) you will not find it here. Consider that, in an anime, for example, this sort of entertainment is usually adapted from other visual media such as manga, rather than from prose fiction. Back to the monkey’s paw illustration, though: just because one thing is done does not mean it cannot be improved upon. Love, Death + Robots will reach ten or a hundred times the people that the written stories it is based on ever will. If enough people pay attention, the market for science fiction television will still expand. Even if the show itself is a bit disappointing, it will not do any harm. In this article:and Robots, blur studio, david fincher, death, heavy metal, Love, Netflix Looking Back: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season Four, Episode 1: “Two Swords” Review Looking Back: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season Three, Episode 10: “Mhysa” Review Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe158 Total Shares Stranger Things Season Three Episode 2: “The Mall Rats” is an (Overstuffed) Delight142 Total Shares The Technology Behind Nintendo’s Consoles: 2001-2007127 Total Shares Ranking The Legend of Zelda Series126 Total Shares Stranger Things Season Three Episode 6: “E Pluribus Unum” Can’t Find Its Rhythm Stranger Things Season Three Episode 5: “The Flayed” Runs in (Thrilling) Circles Stranger Things Season Three Episode 3: “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard” Loses the Thread Stranger Things Season Three Episode 1: “Suzie, Do You Copy?” Is a Surprisingly Strong Opening Copyright © 2019 Goomba Stomp.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1257
__label__wiki	0.784031	0.784031	8 U.S.C. United States Code, 2017 Edition Title 8 - ALIENS AND NATIONALITY CHAPTER 14 - RESTRICTING WELFARE AND PUBLIC BENEFITS FOR ALIENS SUBCHAPTER I - ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL BENEFITS Sec. 1611 - Aliens who are not qualified aliens ineligible for Federal public benefits From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov §1611. Aliens who are not qualified aliens ineligible for Federal public benefits Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subsection (b), an alien who is not a qualified alien (as defined in section 1641 of this title) is not eligible for any Federal public benefit (as defined in subsection (c)). (b) Exceptions (1) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to the following Federal public benefits: (A) Medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.] (or any successor program to such title) for care and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition (as defined in section 1903(v)(3) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(3)]) of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure, if the alien involved otherwise meets the eligibility requirements for medical assistance under the State plan approved under such title (other than the requirement of the receipt of aid or assistance under title IV of such Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.], supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.], or a State supplementary payment). (B) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency disaster relief. (C) Public health assistance (not including any assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.]) for immunizations with respect to immunizable diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by a communicable disease. (D) Programs, services, or assistance (such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter) specified by the Attorney General, in the Attorney General's sole and unreviewable discretion after consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and departments, which (i) deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or private nonprofit agencies; (ii) do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or resources; and (iii) are necessary for the protection of life or safety. (E) Programs for housing or community development assistance or financial assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, any program under title V of the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.], or any assistance under section 1926c of title 7, to the extent that the alien is receiving such a benefit on August 22, 1996. (2) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under title II of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.] to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General, to any benefit if nonpayment of such benefit would contravene an international agreement described in section 233 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 433], to any benefit if nonpayment would be contrary to section 202(t) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 402(t)], or to any benefit payable under title II of the Social Security Act to which entitlement is based on an application filed in or before August 1996. (3) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under title XVIII of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.] (relating to the medicare program) to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General and, with respect to benefits payable under part A of such title [42 U.S.C. 1395c et seq.], who was authorized to be employed with respect to any wages attributable to employment which are counted for purposes of eligibility for such benefits. (4) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 [45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.] or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act [45 U.S.C. 351 et seq.] to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General or to an alien residing outside the United States. (5) Subsection (a) shall not apply to eligibility for benefits for the program defined in section 1612(a)(3)(A) of this title (relating to the supplemental security income program), or to eligibility for benefits under any other program that is based on eligibility for benefits under the program so defined, for an alien who was receiving such benefits on August 22, 1996. (c) "Federal public benefit" defined (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of this chapter the term "Federal public benefit" means— (A) any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States; and (B) any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States. (2) Such term shall not apply— (A) to any contract, professional license, or commercial license for a nonimmigrant whose visa for entry is related to such employment in the United States, or to a citizen of a freely associated state, if section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in Public Law 99–239 or 99–658 (or a successor provision) is in effect; (B) with respect to benefits for an alien who as a work authorized nonimmigrant or as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.] qualified for such benefits and for whom the United States under reciprocal treaty agreements is required to pay benefits, as determined by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of State; or (C) to the issuance of a professional license to, or the renewal of a professional license by, a foreign national not physically present in the United States. (Pub. L. 104–193, title IV, §401, Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2261; Pub. L. 105–33, title V, §§5561, 5565, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 638, 639; Pub. L. 105–306, §§2, 5(a), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2926, 2927.) The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620, as amended. Titles II, IV, XVI, XVIII, and XIX of the Act are classified generally to subchapters II (§401 et seq.), IV (§601 et seq.), XVI (§1381 et seq.), XVIII (§1395 et seq.), and XIX (§1396 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Part A of title XVIII of the Act is classified generally to part A (§1395c et seq.) of subchapter XVIII of chapter 7 of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of Title 42 and Tables. The Housing Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(E), is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, as amended. Title V of the Act is classified generally to subchapter III (§1471 et seq.) of chapter 8A of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of Title 42 and Tables. The Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), is act Aug. 29, 1935, ch. 812, as amended generally by Pub. L. 93–445, title I, §101, Oct. 16, 1974, 88 Stat. 1305, which is classified generally to subchapter IV (§231 et seq.) of chapter 9 of Title 45, Railroads. For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Codification note set out preceding section 231 of Title 45, section 231t of Title 45, and Tables. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 680, 52 Stat. 1094, which is classified principally to chapter 11 (§351 et seq.) of Title 45, Railroads. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 367 of Title 45 and Tables. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was in the original "this title" meaning title IV of Pub. L. 104–193, Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2260, which enacted this chapter, section 1183a of this title, and sections 611a and 1437y of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, amended section 1383 of this title, sections 32 and 6213 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, and sections 1436a and 1471 of Title 42, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 1183a of this title and section 32 of Title 26. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Tables. Section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in Public Law 99–239 or 99–658, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(A), means section 141 of the Compact of Free Association between the Government of the United States and the Governments of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, which is contained in section 201 of Pub. L. 99–239, set out as a note under section 1901 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, and section 141 of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Government of Palau, which is contained in section 201 of Pub. L. 99–658, set out as a note under section 1931 of Title 48. The Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(B), is act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 12 (§1101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1101 of this title and Tables. 1998—Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 105–306, §2, added par. (5). Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 105–306, §5(a), added subpar. (C). 1997—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 105–33, §5561(a), added par. (3). Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 105–33, §5561(b), added par. (4). Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105–33, §5565, inserted before semicolon ", or to a citizen of a freely associated state, if section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in Public Law 99–239 or 99–658 (or a successor provision) is in effect". Amendment by Pub. L. 105–33 effective as if included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–193, see section 5582 of Pub. L. 105–33, set out as a note under section 1367 of this title. Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of Functions For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title. Additional Funding for State Emergency Health Services Furnished to Undocumented Aliens Pub. L. 105–33, title IV, §4723, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 515, provided that: "(a) Total Amount Available for Allotment.—There are available for allotments under this section for each of the 4 consecutive fiscal years (beginning with fiscal year 1998) $25,000,000 for payments to certain States under this section. "(b) State Allotment Amount.— "(1) In general.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall compute an allotment for each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 1998 and ending with fiscal year 2001 for each of the 12 States with the highest number of undocumented aliens. The amount of such allotment for each such State for a fiscal year shall bear the same ratio to the total amount available for allotments under subsection (a) for the fiscal year as the ratio of the number of undocumented aliens in the State in the fiscal year bears to the total of such numbers for all such States for such fiscal year. The amount of allotment to a State provided under this paragraph for a fiscal year that is not paid out under subsection (c) shall be available for payment during the subsequent fiscal year. "(2) Determination.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the number of undocumented aliens in a State under this section shall be determined based on estimates of the resident illegal alien population residing in each State prepared by the Statistics Division of the Immigration and Naturalization Service as of October 1992 (or as of such later date if such date is at least 1 year before the beginning of the fiscal year involved). "(c) Use of Funds.—From the allotments made under subsection (b), the Secretary shall pay to each State amounts the State demonstrates were paid by the State (or by a political subdivision of the State) for emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens. "(d) State Defined.—For purposes of this section, the term 'State' includes the District of Columbia. "(e) State Entitlement.—This section constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts and represents the obligation of the Federal Government to provide for the payment to States of amounts provided under this section." Study and Report on Alien Student Eligibility for Postsecondary Federal Student Financial Assistance Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title V, §506, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–672, provided that not later than one year after Sept. 30, 1996, the Comptroller General was to submit to Congress a report on the extent to which aliens who were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence were receiving postsecondary Federal student financial assistance, and the Secretary of Education and the Commissioner of Social Security were jointly to submit to Congress a report on the computer matching program of the Department of Education under section 1091(p) of title 20.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1258
__label__cc	0.578644	0.421356	fms20@st-andrews.ac.uk @primarycare_sta Professor Frank Sullivan Professor of Primary Care Medicine at University of St Andrews My research achievements lie mainly in health informatics and community-based trials, covering the spectrum from health data science record-linkage of electronic health records to decision support to the evaluation of complex interventions. The Scottish Health Research Register (SHARE) is a good example of how new tools I have helped develop have become part of the research landscape via the Farr Institute and now Health data Research UK. I have obtained more the £8M in peer reviewed grant funding and published 248 papers on primary care research, notably in the early detection of the management of diabetes, cancer and Bell’s palsy. I won the British Medical Association Research paper of the year in 2009 for the NEJM paper on Bell’s palsy and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2011. At Health Data Research UK we work with talented research professionals from organisations across the UK. Here you can find out more about some of our colleagues.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1259
__label__wiki	0.771176	0.771176	NEWS \| Bell CH-146 Griffon in Canadian Armed Forces Canada Expands Contribution Against ISIL Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) added three CH-146 Griffon helicopters to Joint Task Force-Iraq as part of Operation IMPACT. Canada Department of National Defence, May 19, 2016 - Ottawa – As part of the Government of Canada’s expanded contribution to multinational efforts to degrade and defeat the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recently added three CH-146 Griffon helicopters, an all-source intelligence centre, and additional trainers to Operation IMPACT. The three CH-146 Griffon helicopters will enhance in-theatre tactical transport, including medical evacuations if required. The Griffons and their crews excel in the tactical transportation of troops and materiel. A variety of self-defence weapons are fitted to the aircraft for the deployment. As a part of Joint Task Force-Iraq, the CAF officially opened an all-source intelligence centre, responsible for collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing information derived from a variety of sources. This intelligence is then used to inform operational planning, ultimately contributing to the protection of Coalition forces and the conduct of Coalition operations. The additional tactical aviation, intelligence and training personnel are part of Canada’s enhanced mission that will eventually see around 830 CAF members deployed as part of Canada’s contribution to Coalition efforts to improve the security of Iraq and the region. These adjustments of personnel and capabilities are expected to be completed by late summer. Under the enhanced mission, Canada is tripling the size of its train, advise, and assist mission to help Iraqi Security Forces plan and conduct military operations against ISIL. “These new capabilities underscore Canada’s unwavering commitment to the Global Coalition and the fight against ISIL. Canada’s expanded mission is setting the conditions for Iraqi security forces and regional partners to achieve long-term success by enabling them to effectively plan and execute military operations aimed at defeating ISIL and improving security and stability in the region.”, said Harjit S. Sajjan, Defence Minister “The fight against ISIL depends on credible, integrated, and timely intelligence, which is essential in planning and executing military operations. The all-source intelligence centre will enhance our situational awareness along with that of the Coalition. Griffon helicopters will provide effective in-theatre tactical transport, and will enhance the capabilities of our trainers in Iraq. All of these Canadian assets will make significant contributions to Coalition operations.”, said General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff Bell CH-146 Griffon in Canadian Armed Forces	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1264
__label__wiki	0.852462	0.852462	Heritage Farm full equestrian experience Producing national hunter, jumper and equitation champions for over 20 years Heritage Farm is owned and operated by brothers Michael and Andre Dignelli. Michael and Andre's passion for horses started over 30 years ago and culminated with what has become known today as Heritage Farm. Andre Dignelli came onto the scene in 1985, when he won the USET Finals under the guidance of Judy Richter of Coker Farm. He later joined her team as a trainer and later went on to win the bronze medal in the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba. 1991 proved to be a great year, because the winning did not stop there. Andre trained his first national equitation final winner when Peter Lutz swept the Rolex USET Final and the Maclay Final. That year was the start of winning pedigree, which has gone on to include other top riders like Kent Farrington, Kirsten Coe, Maggie McAlary, Reed Kessler, Lillie Keenan and many, many more. Michael Dignelli, Andre's older brother, manages daily operations at Heritage Farm and has been instrumental in its success. Often times working behind the scenes, Michael is the driver behind making sure that all of Heritage's facilities and staff are operating at peak performance in order to ensure the best customer experience possible. Michael is passionate about horses and is an influential figure in the animal and farm community. His younger son, Dean Dignelli, recently joined Heritage Farm and has enjoyed success as an amateur rider. As a team, Andre and Michael have created one of the top stables in the country—Andre teaching and training, Michael running the business. They have done this by combining Andre’s vast experience with horses (hands-on, in the saddle and as a trainer) and Michael’s forward-thinking business mind. The brothers have built a strong support staff—employing top farriers and veternarians to care for the farm’s horses. As the years went on, they purchased quality horses so that students would have competitive mounts to help them reach their goals. And the farm’s success is built on a foundation of respect, due much in part to its family-oriented atmosphere. 19 Lalli Drive Katonah, NY — 10536 Tuesday— Sunday	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1265
__label__wiki	0.846742	0.846742	Dove proves that beauty is a state of mind Previous - HUL wins two Gold’s at APAC Effie Awards Next - Lifebuoy 'pumps' some fun into handwashing Dove has conducted a first-of-its-kind social experiment to show that beauty is a state of mind – and that the power to feel beautiful comes from within. Dove's beauty patch Dove on Facebook Dove on Twitter Dove on YouTube Dove on Google + New Dove Nourishing Handwash launched Dove inspires India to “Break the Rules of Beauty” Battling skin damage During the two week social experiment led by esteemed psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, Dr Ann Kearney-Cooke, women were invited to wear a custom-made “beauty patch” which would help them feel more beautiful. The women kept a personal account of their life-changing experience throughout the experiment. All the women agreed that wearing the “beauty patch” helped to improve their self-esteem and to change their personal lives in ways that they had not imagined. At the end of the experiment, however, it was revealed that the “beauty patch” contained nothing and that the power of believing in their own beauty influenced feeling beautiful. Feeling beautiful "When a woman feels beautiful, she radiates happiness and confidence, which inspires her life in a significant way,” says Dr Kearney-Cooke. “These women, like so many others, struggle to recognise their own beauty and it severely affects their daily lives.” The film Dove: Patches shows inspirational stories of women developing a stronger relationship with their own beauty. Chris was one of the women who participated in the experiment and recognises how important her learnings will be for her children. “I truly believe that it is important to see the beauty in myself so I can inspire my children to feel the same,” she says. And Chris wasn’t the only one who felt a change as a result of the study. She says her husband has also noticed and complimented her new found self-confidence. Beauty Anxiety The experiment was carried out in response to research showing that an alarming 80% of women around the world feel anxious about the way they look, and only 4% would describe themselves as beautiful. Jocelyn Hsieh, Dove Global Brand Development Manager says: “We hear from thousands of women every day about how their complicated relationship with beauty affects their overall confidence and happiness. By illustrating through the Dove: Patches film that a positive state of mind and openness can help them feel more beautiful, we hope to inspire all women and help change the way they see themselves.” Watch the Dove: Patches film and join the conversation at #BeautyIs.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1266
__label__wiki	0.700595	0.700595	Ambassador College Thesis The Plain Truth about the Protestant Reformation Can the U.S. Constitution Enforce SUNDAY? CATASTROPHIC EVENTS soon to bring END OF THE WORLD! PROPHESIED TO HAPPEN to the United States and Britain! - Installment 5 Roderick C Meredith Church of God Ambassador College: 1952 Ordained: December 20, 1952 Office: Evangelist Chapter V: Luther's Revolt Against Rome As we have seen, on the eve of the Reformation there were many complaints and abuses that called for reform. Those who were responsible for the spiritual and material welfare of the people were content to preserve the status quo, because it served to their own enrichment and religious or political advantage. Yet the people cried out for financial relief — for at least some measure of political freedom. And the yoke of religious oppression laid heavily on the populace of Europe. Some outstanding personality was needed to sound the cry of alarm, which would inevitably set off a universal explosion which had long been smoldering. Yet no ordinary leader, no matter what his ideals or personal brilliance, could fulfill this role. It would take someone who could identify himself with the unspoken cravings of the local princes, the middle classes, the peasants — who could uniquely identify himself with their long-suffered grievances, and so become a symbol of the universal urge for a complete revolution in the religious, social, and political life of that day. Such a man was Martin Luther. The complete identification of Luther with the Protestant Reformation, the uniqueness of his personality as its center and rallying point, is attested to by all historians. Fisher describes this circumstance: "Unquestionably the hero of the Reformation was Luther. Without him and his powerful influence, other reformatory movements, even such as had an independent beginning, like that of Zwingle, might have failed of success.... Luther apart from the Reformation would cease to be Luther." (The Reformation, p. 87). An understanding of the basic facts concerning Luther's childhood and youthful life is important as a background to an adequate comprehension of his later beliefs and doctrines. Luther's Early Life Martin Luther was born at Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, the son of a peasant. The family moved to Mansfield six months after Luther's birth and he was brought up there in an atmosphere of austerity and disciplined virtue. An intimate glimpse is given into Luther's early home and school life in a recent work by Roland Bainton: "Luther is reported to have said, 'My mother caned me for stealing a nut, until the blood came. Such strict discipline drove me to the monastery, although she meant it well.' This saying is reinforced by two others: 'My father once whipped me so that I ran away and felt ugly toward him until he was at pains to win me back.' (At school) 'I was caned in a single morning fifteen times for nothing at all. I was required to decline and conjugate and hadn't learned my lesson.' " (Here I Stand, by Roland Bainton, p. 17). Even in these early glimpses, we can see a pattern of incidents that eventually led Luther to want to escape authority and any need for obedience. We need to understand his background of medieval superstition and fear in order to fully understand his emphasis on faith alone in later years. The atmosphere of Luther's family was decidedly that of rugged peasantry. But there was a strong religious feeling in the family, and his father, Hans, prayed at the bedside of his son, and his mother was known in the community as a very devout person. Yet many elements of old German paganism were blended with Christian mythology in the beliefs of the peasants. The woods, they thought, were peopled by elves, gnomes, fairies, witches, and other spirits. Luther's own mother believed them capable of stealing eggs, milk, and butter. Luther himself retained many of these beliefs until his death. He once said: "In my native country on the top of a high mountain called the Pubelsberg is a lake into which if a stone be thrown a tempest will arise over the whole region because the waters are the abode of captive demons" (Bainton, p. 19). His early Catholic religious life was filled with scenes of steeples, spires, cloisters, priests, monks of various orders, collections of relics, ringing of bells, proclaiming of indulgences, religious processions, and supposed cures at shrines. In all these things, he had a normal religious upbringing for those days. At fifteen, Luther was sent to school at Eisenach, where his mother had relatives. As did many of the other poor students there, he was obliged to sing in the streets begging for bread. In 1501, Luther went to the University of Erfurt, having agreed with his father to study for a legal career. While still a student there, a number of spiritual crises upset Luther's course, and eventually redirected his entire life. Luther's Own Spiritual Upheaval Before relating the specific events that led Luther to depart from the ordinary life that his father had planned for him, it will be helpful to notice the effect that the normal religious training of that age had on youths in general, and on Luther in particular. "There is just one respect in which Luther appears to have been different from other youths of his time, namely, in that he was extraordinarily sensitive and subject to recurrent periods of exaltation and depression of spirit. This oscillation of mood plagued him throughout his life. He testified that it began in his youth and that the depressions had been acute in the six months prior to his entry into the monastery" (Bainton, p. 20). We can see that Luther had a very troubled mind indeed. This problem of moodiness — aggravated by a feeling of perpetual guilt, which the Catholic doctrines engendered — made Luther seek a type of emotional release from these inner conflicts. Bainton states: "The explanation lies rather in the tensions which medieval religion deliberately induced, playing alternately upon fear and hope. Hell was stoked, not because men lived in perpetual dread, but precisely because they did not, and in order to instill enough fear to drive them to the sacraments of the church. If they were petrified with terror, purgatory was introduced by way of mitigation as an intermediate place where those not bad enough for hell nor good enough for heaven might make further expiation. If this alleviation inspired complacency, the temperature was advanced on purgatory, and then the pressure was again relaxed through indulgences" (Here I Stand, p. 21). Thus, we can see that Luther's sensitivity was easily played upon by religious fears that had been inculcated since childhood. These fears were an integral part of the system, which Luther eventually came to abhor. Perhaps the first in a series of events, that led Luther gradually to his eventual role as a reformer, was a discovery he made when he was twenty years old and had already taken his Bachelor's degree. It happened that while he was looking one day at the books in the Erfurt library that he casually picked up a copy of the Latin Bible. This was the first time that he had ever held a copy of the Bible in his hands, and he was surprised at the richness of its contents and studied it eagerly (Fisher, The Reformation, p. 88). Although he had been for some time now engrossed in humanistic studies, on reading the Scriptures for the first time on this and subsequent occasions the deep religious anxieties that had affected him from a child, returned and began to occupy his thoughts. Later, returning to Erfurt from a visit with his parents, a storm arose and a thunderbolt struck down Luther and his companion. Luther quickly regained his feet, but was deeply moved when he discovered that his friend, Alexis, had been killed. Then and there, Luther determined to make his peace with God, and he soon entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt to become a priest. In 1507, he was ordained to the priesthood, but his studies and spiritual exercises failed to bring him the inward peace he so desperately sought. He was encouraged to study passages from the Scriptures, and the church fathers, by Staupitz, the vicar of the order. But this study, although helpful, did not quiet the restlessness and inward torment of Luther. During this time, many were struck by the remarkable appearance of Luther. In 1518, a contemporary said of him, "I could hardly look the man in the face, such a diabolical fire darted out of his eyes" (Hausser, The Period of the Reformation, p. 8). Luther Felt Unable to Obey God Feeling a deep sense of personal inadequacy and sin, he set out to perform whatever good works were prescribed for the saving of his soul. And there were many such exercises recommended by the Catholicism of that day. "He fasted, sometimes three days on end without a crumb. The seasons of fasting were more consoling to him than those of feasting. Lent was more comforting than Easter. He laid upon himself vigils and prayers in excess of those stipulated by the rule. He cast off the blankets permitted him and well-nigh froze himself to death. At times he was proud of his sanctity and would say, 'I have done nothing wrong today.' Then misgivings would arise. 'Have you fasted enough? Are you poor enough?' He would then strip himself of all, save that which decency required. He believed in later life that his austerities had done permanent damage to his digestion" (Bainton, p. 34). All Luther knew of Christ at this time was that He was a "stern judge" from whom he would like to flee. Under a feeling of utter condemnation, Luther persisted in afflicting his body and mind with the various religious exercises practiced by the monks of his day. "If a monk ever won heaven by monkery, he has said, I would have found my way there also; all my convent comrades will bear witness to that" (Lindsay, History, p. 427). Notice that these things all indicate Luther's strong attachment to the Roman church. He was part and parcel with it, had been reared in it, steeped in its doctrines. And as is often the case in similar instances, when the break did come it was to be a violent one. "The trouble was that he could not satisfy God at any point. Commenting in later life on the Sermon on the Mount, Luther gave searching expression to his disillusionment. Referring to the precepts of Jesus he said: 'This word is too high and too hard that anyone should fulfill it. This is proved, not merely by our Lord's word, but by our own experience and feeling. Take any upright man or woman. He will get along very nicely with those who do not provoke him, but let someone proffer only the slightest irritation and he will flare up in anger... if not against friends, then against enemies. Flesh and blood cannot rise above it' " (Bainton, p. 34). Determining in his own mind that it is impossible for man to perform what God requires, Luther continued his search for an answer to his guilt complex. Having been made a professor in the University of Wittenberg, which was operated in connection with the Augustinian monastery there, he began to lecture on the epistles of Paul. He had hardly begun his exposition of the epistle to the Romans when his eyes fastened on the passage, "the just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). These words made a profound impression on Luther, and he pondered their meaning at great length. His Disillusionment With the Papacy When Luther visited Rome at some time during this period, he ran about the city full of devotional ardor, attempting to secure for himself the spiritual blessings that were offered by viewing various holy relics and doing penance at sacred shrines. While he did penance upon the stairs of the so-called judgment seat of Pilate, the haunting text of Scripture again entered his mind — "the just shall live by faith." Throughout Luther's stay in Rome, disillusionment began to multiply in his mind as to the character of the Roman Church. He began to see what a corrupt and abominable system it had become. While officiating at several masses in Rome, he tried to maintain the dignity and reverence, which he felt this action required. But he was very disturbed at the frivolous and totally irreverent manner in which the Roman priests celebrated the sacrament of the altar. D'Aubigne relates: "One day when he was officiating he found that the priests at an adjoining altar had already repeated seven masses before he had finished one. 'Quick, quick!' cried one of them, 'send our Lady back her Son;' making an impious allusion to the transubstantiation of the bread into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. At another time Luther had only just reached the Gospel, when the priest at his side had already terminated the mass. 'Passa, passa!' cried the latter to him, 'make haste! have done with it at once'." "His astonishment was still greater, when he found in the dignitaries of the papacy what he had already observed in the inferior clergy. He had hoped better things of them" (History of the Reformation, p. 68). Returning home, he pondered over the scenes of the pious pilgrims in Rome seeking salvation through various endeavors. And he shuddered as he recalled the frivolity, the moral wretchedness, and the lack of real spiritual knowledge in that city — supposedly, "the capital of Christendom." The words of Paul returned to him again — "the just shall live by faith." At last he felt that he could understand them. The Heart of Luther's Theology Fisher relates Luther's feeling: "Through the Gospel that righteousness is revealed which avails before God — by which He, out of grace and mere compassion, justifies us through faith. Here I felt at once, he says, that I was wholly born again and that I had entered through open doors into Paradise itself. That passage of Paul was truly to me the gate of Paradise. He saw that Christ is not come as a lawgiver, but as a Savior, that love, not wrath or justice, is the motive in his mission and work; that the forgiveness of sins through Him is a free gift; that the relationship of the soul to Him, and through Him to the Father, which is expressed by the term faith, the responsive act of the soul to the divine mercy, is all that is required. This method of reconciliation is without the works of the law" (The Reformation, p. 91). Now we see the central point of all Luther's theology. This doctrine of justification became the cornerstone of all of Luther's subsequent religious efforts. It alone had provided him with a sense of release from his haunting sense of guilt and fear of damnation. And, we may truly add, it gave him a way around the requirements of God's spiritual law — which Luther felt he could not keep — and which he ultimately grew to hate. It is evident that in all this thinking about law, Luther was substituting the Catholic idea of ritualistic "works" and penances for the Ten Commandments of God. Obsessed with the idea of getting around a need for any obedience, he began to feel that faith alone is sufficient for salvation. The logical consequence of Luther's new position demanded a clash with Rome. It was on the question of the sale of indulgences that his direct opposition to orthodox Catholic doctrine was first made known. The Doctrine of Indulgences After his return from Rome, Luther had resumed his teaching career in the University of Wittenberg, and continued in his study of the Scripture, and in the development of his theory of justification and salvation. Through the encouragement of his superior, Staupitz, he completed his work for his doctor's degree so that he might replace Staupitz by assuming the chair of Bible at the university. In 1512, he took the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and continued his teaching career. All the while, his ideas on justification were growing and developing. He wrote: "I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, 'the justice of God,' because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant" (Bainton, p. 49). Notice that Luther confessed that he hated God in the form of Lawgiver and Judge. True enough, his false Catholic concept of obedience confused him as to the real spiritual issues at stake. He was like a man spiritually drunk — seeking his way out of an abyss. But in his mental torment from Catholic teaching, he was also desperately determined to find a way around obedience, law, and justice. Luther wrote: "Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that 'the just shall live by his faith.' Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the 'justice of God' had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven..." (Bainton, p. 49). Thus, we can see that with the increasing stress Luther was putting on justification by faith alone, the Romish practice of selling indulgences for sin would be particularly distasteful to him — and an abuse he would naturally want to attack. Since the matter of indulgences was the immediate cause of Luther's break with Rome, it will be particularly helpful at this point to quote a scholarly description of this practice, and the exact wording of the indulgences. Wharey states: "Indulgences, in the Romish church, are a remission of the punishment due to sin, granted by the church, and supposed to save the sinner from purgatory. According to the doctrine of the Romish church, all the good works of the saints, over and above those that were necessary for their own justification, are deposited, together with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in an inexhaustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter and to his successors, the popes, who may open it at pleasure; and, by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any particular person for a sum of money, may convey to him either the pardon of his own sins, or a release of anyone for whom he is interested, from the pains of purgatory. "Such indulgences were first invented in the eleventh century, by Urban II, as a recompense to those who went in person upon the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy Land. They were afterwards granted to anyone who hired a soldier for that purpose; and, in process of time, were bestowed on such as gave money for accomplishing any pious work enjoined by the pope. The power of granting indulgences has been greatly abused in the Church of Rome. Pope Leo X, in order to carry on the magnificent structure of St. Peter's at Rome, published indulgences, and a plenary permission to all such as should contribute money towards it. Finding the project take, he granted to Albert, elector of Mentz, and archbishop of Magdeburg, the benefit of the indulgences of Saxony, and the neighboring parts, and farmed out those of other countries to the highest bidders; who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the ablest preachers to cry up the values of the ware. The form of these indulgences was as follows: "May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred; then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be; even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see, and as far as the keys of the holy church extend. I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the union of the faithful, and to the innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of paradise of delights shall be opened: and if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." (Church History, p. 224-25.) The glowing descriptions, which the hawkers of indulgences gave of their benefit, were sometimes almost incredible. If a man, they said, should purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest assured of its salvation. "Lo," they said, "the heavens are open; if you enter not now, when will you enter?" It was the great abuse of this already abominable practice, which led Martin Luther to take a definite stand against Rome. He was, of course, correct in opposing this practice. Taking the stand he did, took courage. But, the question we wish to consider is whether this led him to return to the "faith once delivered," or simply to reject that part of the Catholic teaching which he could not agree with, and to set up in its place another purely human inspired ecclesiastical system which suited him. The Indulgence for St. Peter's in Rome In Luther's vicinity, the proclamation of the indulgence to help rebuild St. Peter's in Rome was entrusted to a Dominican, Tetzel, an experienced vendor. The indulgence was not actually offered in Luther's parish, because the church could not introduce an indulgence without the permission of the local authorities. In this case, the elector, Frederick the Wise, would not give his consent because he did not wish the indulgence of St. Peter's to encroach upon the indulgences of All Saints' Church at Wittenberg (Bainton, p. 57). But Tetzel came so close that Luther's parishioners could go over the border and return with some amazing concessions as a result of the high-pressure sales campaign Tetzel and his fellow hawkers were conducting. Luther was righteously indignant at this shameless imposition of the Pope, and his reformer's blood was roused. As the practice of the time, he drew up ninety-five theses for debate and nailed them to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. This was on October 31, 1517. Many of Luther's theses appealed to the desperate financial straits of the German peasants, and indirectly appealed to the papacy to stop exacting more money from them. In his fiftieth proposition, Luther maintained: "Christians must be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the preachers of indulgences, he would rather have St. Peter's basilica reduced to ashes, than built with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep" (Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, p. 267). In the heated discussions that followed, Luther declared: "The revenues of all Christendom are being sucked into this insatiable basilica. The Germans laugh at calling this the common treasure of Christendom. Before long all the churches, palaces, walls, and bridges of Rome will be built out of our money. First of all we should rear living temples, not local churches, and only last of all St. Peter's, which is not necessary for us. We Germans cannot attend St. Peter's. Better that it should never be built than that our parochial churches should be despoiled" (Bainton, p. 61). Luther's political appeal to his fellow Germans is evident in all the early writings on this subject. He does not argue from the spiritual principle of what is right or wrong before God, but primarily from the nationalistic attitude that the money from indulgences should be spent on German religious causes. Luther's attack on the papal financial policy brought a ready agreement among the Germans who had long suffered from a sense of grievance against the Italian hierarchy — as they often regarded it. Luther's other point, that indulgences were spiritually harmful to the recipient, and that the pope has no absolute power over purgatory or the forgiveness of sins, also stirred up controversy. Although the average German was likely to fully understand only the demand for financial relief, only Luther's connection of this popular grievance with the idea of blasphemy against the mercy of God would have the appeal to create a popular revolution. Luther took no steps to spread his theses among the people. But others quietly translated them into German and had them printed. They soon became the talk of all Germany, and Luther's career as a reformer had been launched (Bainton, p. 62-63). Luther's Final Break With Rome When Luther first posted his theses, he did not intend them for general dissemination. But now that they had been distributed, he stood by them in subsequent discussions and in tracts, which he wrote in their defense. Although news of these developments traveled slowly, it was not long before the authorities in Rome knew that the greater part of Germany was taking sides with Luther. An accusation was brought against Luther at Rome, and the pope commissioned Cardinal Cajetan to represent him in talks with Luther. He was told to try to persuade Luther to give up any radical ideas — and to handle the affair with as little disturbance as possible (Hausser, p. 20). This he could not do, and Luther appealed from the pope ill informed to the same when better informed. Thereupon a second attempt was made to keep Luther within the Roman fold. Carl Von Militz, a papal nuncio, was able to win Luther's confidence and make an agreement for him to maintain silence — provided his enemies would also — until papal representatives had been able to look into Luther's new doctrines. "And then," Luther said, "if I am convicted of error, I shall willingly retract it, and not weaken the power and glory of the holy Roman Church" (Hausser, p. 22). We notice that Luther still regarded the Roman Church as "holy"! It is important to realize how thoroughly steeped in her philosophies and doctrines Luther actually was. True, he eventually came to sharply disagree on several points. But to the very end, Martin Luther — born and reared a Roman Catholic, and Catholic priest by profession — was literally saturated with the concepts, dogmas, and traditions which this church had accumulated through the Middle Ages. As late as March 3, 1519, Luther wrote the Pope: "Now, Most Holy Father, I protest before God and his creatures that it has never been my purpose, nor is it now, to do ought that might weaken, or overthrow the authority of the Roman Church or that of your Holiness; nay, more, I confess that the power of this church is above all things; that nothing in heaven or on earth is to be set before it, Jesus alone, the Lord of all, excepted" (Alzog's Universal History, p. 195). Unless he were lying in this letter, Martin Luther — even at this late date — felt that the Roman Catholic religion was the true Church of God on earth! But his truce with Rome not to speak out was to be short-lived. Dr. John Eck, a theologian from Leipzig, publicly challenged Luther to debate on his new doctrines (Hausser, p. 22). So the battle of words and pamphlets revived. In the debates, Luther, as he always did, confused justification and salvation. He maintained that faith alone — without any works — suffices for salvation. When confronted with conflicting statements from the Epistle of James, he called in question the authenticity of the epistle (Alzog, p. 196). It is important to realize that not once, but many times, Luther would challenge the authority of any book in the Bible, which seemed to disagree with his ideas on justification. We will discuss Luther's contradictory statements on Scripture in a later chapter. After the Leipzig debates, Dr. Eck set out for Rome to warn Pope Leo X of the danger Luther was becoming to the Catholic Church in Germany. A papal bull was issued in 1520 condemning Luther and forty-one of his propositions. He himself was to be excommunicated if he did not retract within sixty days (Alzog, p. 203). Because of Luther's popularity with both the common people and the nobility, the papal bull was received with open repugnance in Germany. Many declared that it was not necessary to obey it and Luther's protector, Frederick the Wise, openly disclaimed obedience to the bull. So Luther then took the unheard of step of publicly burning the papal bull in the presence of his fellow monks, the students, and the citizens of Wittenberg (Hausser, p. 27). This bold step of making a complete break with Rome drew the attention of the entire German nation to Luther's cause. He quickly found political support in the friendly disposition of the elector and of the jurists who had a long-standing grievance over the interference of ecclesiastical courts in civil affairs. He also found ready allies in the humanist scholars who were filled with nationalistic fervor and were ready to avenge the indignities suffered by Germany under Italian and papal rule. They were ready to write with invective and satire — and also to use their swords (Fisher, The Reformation, p. 102). Soon after these events, Luther made a political appeal to the German nobility for their backing. His challenge to the "glorious Teutonic people" who were "born to be masters" had an electrifying effect on many of the German nobles and princes. But it was purely political, and this same type of appeal has more recently been used with success by German generals and dictators! Luther urged: "... Poor Germans that we are — we have been deceived! We were born to be masters, and we have been compelled to bow the head beneath the yoke of our tyrants, and to become slaves. Name, title, outward signs of royalty, we possess all these; force, power, right, liberty, all these have gone over to the popes, who have robbed us of them. They get the kernel, we get the husk.... It is time the glorious Teutonic people should cease to be the puppet of the Roman pontiff" (Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, p. 278). From here on, it remained for Luther and his adherents to attempt to found a new religious system, embracing the doctrines flowing from Luther's active pen. In future chapters, we will see if Luther's system constituted a return to the faith, doctrine, and practice of Christ and the Apostolic Church. Previous Chapter V Next	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1267
__label__cc	0.581203	0.418797	NewsNews Updates of the Home of the Mother Christmas Festival in Priego Christmas Festival in Priego, Cuenca (Spain), December 22nd, 2013. This past December 22nd, we celebrated a Christmas Festival in the Cultural Center of Priego, Cuenca (Spain) organised by the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother. All the citizens of the town were invited to attend the act and, in fact, the hall was filled with people. This year, the main act of our festival was a performance in which the protagonists were nine actors (youth and young adults), plus two women who also put in their comical note. Moreover, a group of children who were dressed up as gifts brightened up the set. Our presenters were also two youth of Priego. Miriam Ferrer, member of the Home of the Mother who has a long experience as presenter whenever it is needed, and Gabriel, a promising student of journalism who is very gifted in the communications field, accompanied by an excellent radio voice. As you see, we had great presenters for our show. The play was set in a toy shop in which the actors were toys who turned alive when the store owner was not looking at them. A rag doll - acted by Marta Torrecilla - was the toy that was rejected and forgotten about, and who did not find any meaning to her existence nor had motives for being happy in Christmas. A clown, a teddy bear, a Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Christmas lights, and Monopoly tried to reason with the rag doll to find the meaning of Christmas, showing that her joy proceeded from the gifts, travelling, celebrations or Christmas food. Nothing would change the sadness of the doll until a harlequin finds the answer. With the Word of God he goes decifering the true meaning that brings joy to the heart of every human being. Jesus is the Gift that we can all receive. The end of the play consisted in a living manger scene that showed the true protagonist of Christmas. The play was animated by several songs with choreography, finishing with a tender song to the Child Jesus that the rag doll sang. In other moments of the play, the audience had the opportunity to laugh. We must say that one of the three kings failed us in the last moment and we had to improvise by dressing up a spontaneous person. Our Christmas festival had some intermissions, during which we projected some short videos that reflected the Christian charity in Christmas and that moved many hearts in the audience. For example, a bar owner told us afterwards that one of the vidoes had impressed him so much that, when he arrived home, he searched for it on the internet and projected it all afternoon in his bar. Another of the intermissions was the performance that Carmen did (the grandmother of the presenter of the festival). She acted out a Christmas monologue with great skill and talent that made us all laugh. And lastly, we raffled off a big Christmas basket (elaborated through the generosity of the people of the town who collaborated by giving food items of all kinds) and a picture of the statue of Christ of the Charity. The profit of the raffle was destined to help needy families in the town. From this community of Servant Sisters we give thanks in first place to God for helping us to carry out this festival and so be able to continue enlightening this society that wants to shut out the Christian light of Christmas. We also give thanks to all those who have made the performance possible with their participation, with the costumes, and with their prayer. We wish a Merry and Holy Christmas to all of them and to all who are reading these lines. See the Photo Album Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1269
__label__cc	0.734827	0.265173	Preparing for Christmas Preparing for Christmas in Macael, Almería (Spain), December, 2016. We would like to tell you about some of the activities that have been going on at the parish in Macael to prepare for Christmas this year. We hope that it all has really been a good for souls and pleasing to Our Mother. The danger during these days is that of getting absorbed in so many things that we forget what’s really important, or that of living it in such a way that our soul goes off track instead of centered on what’s essential… Right? Let ‘s begin… In our dear town of Macael, there’s a nice custom of celebrating what we call the “Masses of Joy.” On the nine days before Christmas, we celebrate these special Masses at 9:00 p.m. in which we intensify our preparation to receive the Child Jesus. In spite of the cold, several families make it a point to come and bring their children. The town band enlivens things with its merry Christmas carols. To finish each day, there is a drawing for the kids to see which house the Child Jesus is going sleep in that night. The winner takes a statue of Baby Jesus home on a cushion, and when he or she brings it to Mass the next day tells everyone how he or she has taken care of Him and what prayers he or she said. We also prepare a festival with the Catechesis to prepare our hearts and rejoice. All the children who go to Catechism participate, and in the midst of the rush and as well as possible, because it’s very difficult for all of them to make it to the rehearsals… each year a small festival turns out… As always, Isabel, a great woman who we nickname ‘Gunpowder,’ because she works as if she had gunpowder in her, and is an artist, helped us with the decorations. This time she helped us with the dressing room, designing the outfits of the kids in primary, who this year turned into mini town bands. Accompanied by the catechists, who are just so nice, also dressed as town band members, sang to us with their guitars, tambourines and flags. The kids in secondary performed a beautiful Christmas song that was so joyful that everyone began to dance. Those in third, who will make their First Holy Communion this year, made us laugh with a little show. Besides all of this, we had the privilege of having a practically authentic Holy Family, thanks to the generosity of the catechists. The coordinator was St. Joseph who looked just like a holy card. Another catechist who became a mom a little while ago was the Blessed Virgin Mary, and had her little girl dressed up as Jesus, who, by the way, was so good and did not cry during the entire festival. It has also become tradition to visit some of the sick and elderly people in the town. On Saturday, the 17th we went to the local nursing home with a group of girls and women, who demonstrated their goodwill and courage leaving home on a very rainy afternoon. We nearly had to swim to the nursing home. Wet and happy, we went singing, dancing and chitchatting with the elderly people on the different floors of the nursing home. Another afternoon, we went to visit some of the sick in their homes. We went to a few houses and left them a small gift that we had made with the young girls. We sang Christmas carols to accompany them and make them happy as we were drawing close to Christmas. On Thursday, the 22nd we were able to have a party with the catechists, women, girls and sisters. We ate lunch, sang, played some games and reflected while watching a good movie. The atmosphere was full of joy and fraternity and it warmed our hearts to that they would be ready to receive Our Lord on Christmas Eve. Is Our Lady happy with everything that we have done? What we desire is that the Holy Family might find in Macael, a town ready to receive the Lord, who comes to save us. Servant Sisters,, LHM, HMY, Macael, Almería, Spain,	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1270
__label__wiki	0.60406	0.60406	Winter Series, Issue 219 Europe and Technology by Caroline Atkinson Public opinion and political attitudes have been less welcoming to new technology in Europe than in either the United States or China (and the rest of fast-growing Asia). Although many politicians have acknowledged the importance of fostering the digital economy, European countries have struggled to build a dynamic home-grown tech sector and have been wary of foreign—mainly U.S.—internet companies. There are a number of reasons for Europe’s reluctance to embrace the new technology of the digital era. These include an inevitably divided marketplace in a continent with different languages and cultures; Europe’s history of rules-based economic integration in the post-war period; some suspicion of free-wheeling American capitalism and its apparent disregard for Europe’s societal norms; and a relative weakness in the provision of risk finance and the openness to new consumer services that have powered the U.S. tech industry. Governments, used to a large role in Europe’s economic life, have looked more to regulate and control the digital economy than to stand back and watch it flourish. But the impact on technology adoption of this more statist approach to the economy could be different in the future. The widespread acceptance of an important role for the public sector in economic life could facilitate the transition to a more automated world. Generous provision of income assistance and of public services, in particular high quality widely available education and training, should in theory ease the dislocations to businesses and workers that many predict will result from increased adoption of the newest technologies, including machine learning/artificial intelligence. The question remains: Will Europe take advantage of these strengths and succeed in spurring productivity and growth in the next phase of technological innovation, or will it remain a less than friendly environment for new companies and new ways of doing things. The Economic and Political Context Europe is not a monolith. In some of the smaller economies—from Sweden and Estonia on the one hand to Ireland on the other—governments have embraced the digital economy and welcomed technology companies, and internet use is high. The United Kingdom is high in the ranking of technology adopters worldwide, and Sweden and the Netherlands are not far behind. However, the core EU economies of Germany and France, and also Italy and Spain, have had a more cautious attitude to digital innovation. This may reflect pressures from heavy-weight incumbents fearful of disruption. There is also suspicion of the internet’s potential to disrupt society and governance. The fact that the big successful digital companies operating in Europe are all American has only added to wariness. European businesses and politicians saw mainly threats, and not benefits, as U.S. tech companies grew enormously in size and scope over the past decade. They saw technology companies not only revolutionizing communications and our social interactions—with almost ubiquitous smart phones enabling virtual research, reading and conversations—but also moving to change more traditional aspects of the economy, even signaling an interest in making cars, a true strike at the industrial heart of Europe. Finally, the often-dismissive attitude of Silicon Valley to European concerns, whether about unfair competition, privacy, disruption of traditional industries, or the promotion of anti-social or terrorist behavior on internet platforms, reinforced European opposition. While national governments and regulators differ across Europe, the 28 countries of the EU are bound by EU directives forged in Brussels that govern many aspects of the internet. Since 2015, the European Commission led by President Jean-Claude Juncker has been engaged in a major initiative—the Digital Single Market (DSM)—which has aimed at matching the single market in goods that flow freely across European borders, without barriers to trade. The EU decision-making process does not discriminate by size of member state and major decisions require consensus. But the views of the larger countries tend eventually to carry more weight, whether in decisions concerning sanctions on Russia, funding for countries in crisis, or crafting of new regulations. And in the development of the DSM, the power of the large, core economies has been evident. Europe’s governance structure can be mystifying and frustrating to outsiders. Its bias towards inflexible rules, with slow and cumbersome decision-making, is blamed by many in financial markets for the near-collapse of the currency union, the Euro now used by 19 EU members, during the height of the Euro crisis of 2011-2012. As laid out below, the legalistic approach to new technology has also seemed to undercut the goals of the DSM. Reaching agreement in Europe on new issues can be drawn-out and messy. But another way to look at this is to recognize the complicated balancing act involved in reconciling the national interests of 28 nations (still including the United Kingdom). To the surprise of many in the United States, the European currency, the Euro, did hold together during the crisis. Even those countries that have suffered most economically from the tight budget rules enforced by Brussels—Greece, Ireland, and Portugal and most recently Italy—have preferred to swallow the bitter medicine of austerity imposed by Brussels and Berlin rather than to risk leaving the currency union or the EU itself. The United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU has led to political chaos in the U.K., the depths of which have become ever clearer in recent weeks. The government and Parliament have struggled for more than two years over how to define Britain’s relation to Europe after Brexit. Yet just weeks before the March 29, 2019, deadline for leaving—which was triggered by Prime Minister May’s actions two years ago—there is no more clarity on the way ahead than there was just after the referendum. In January 2019, the government suffered an astonishing defeat in Parliament for May’s Brexit plan, negotiated painstakingly with the other 27 EU members. Perhaps even more perplexing, the Prime Minister—after eking out a victory in a vote of confidence just after her deal was voted down—did little after that to adjust it into something that could command majority support in Parliament. Brinksmanship rules. It is becoming clearer that the Brexit debate across the United Kingdom as well as in Parliament is not really about the economic technicalities that dominate negotiations, whether the rules and regulations governing business or the precise trade and customs arrangements. Rather, it illustrates a deep political divide about U.K. identity: the wisdom and value of being part of a European region, with open borders to others across the continent or, harkening back to the past, standing alone outside Europe. Indeed, the European Union is best understood as a political project, even though its early manifestation was as an economic bloc. The European Coal and Steel Community was formed in 1952 by six European countries, led by Germany and France, in the aftermath of the tragic destruction across Europe of World War II. The forerunner to the EU—the European Economic Community—was set up in 1958, with the Treaty of Rome, with the same six countries. For Germany, the European community was a critical mechanism to assure the peace and stability needed for its recovery from devastation. As the project took hold, deepening trade ties among EU member countries and a series of expansions, to include first the United Kingdom and eventually all the major European economies, has allowed Germany’s transformation into an economic powerhouse without concomitant fears from its neighbors of excessive power. France has had similarly powerful motivations to make the EU succeed. A Franco-German (and Italian) strategic project intended to bind Germany peacefully was critical after the occupation during the Second World War. It also gave post-colonial France the promise of a place among the world’s great powers, with a Europe that could rival the United States economically and politically (even if dependent on U.S. force for defense). Italy, a founding EU member, and other countries outside the Franco-German core have looked to membership in the EU as a way to harness the economic and political power of a bigger bloc in an increasingly globalized world, dominated by the United States and U.S. companies. Europe’s economic growth leveled out after the first several decades of rapid post-war recovery, but it still saw enormous gains in the second half of the twentieth century, when output per head tripled, leisure time rose substantially, and life expectancy grew. It is hard to imagine that such gains would have occurred without political and economic cohesion of Europe. The deepening economic and trading links came with increasingly detailed mandates from Brussels for companies and governments. Agreement and adherence to similar standards across diverse economies underpinned European willingness to open borders to fellow EU member nations. The approach carried over to the treatment of new technology, with a presumption that the EU must develop a governance regime with regulatory standards and firm boundaries on private sector behavior. This contrasts both with the United States, where internet companies flourished in the absence of much government regulation or oversight until recently, and with China, whose government invested heavily in new tech and has giant companies that provide similar services to the U.S. giants, but developed behind the “Great Chinese Firewall.” Europe’s recent growth and employment performance has fallen well short of that in the first decades of the EU. It has also been disappointing compared to the economic performance of the United States, in particular in terms of jobs. Over the past decade of rapid global IT innovation, as well as a gradual recovery from the global financial crisis, only Germany, among major European economies, has succeeded in bringing unemployment down well into single digits with a steadily positive growth rate. Other countries—from those like Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, that turned to the IMF and fellow EU members for financial aid during the euro crisis, to others such as Italy and even France, that avoided capital flight but at the cost of austerity—had dismal growth in jobs and living standards for much of the period. In France, Italy, and Spain, unemployment remains close to or above 10 percent, with extraordinarily high numbers of young people who have never found a full-time job. Germany’s economy is now weakening. Although growth was slightly positive in the final months of 2018, after a contraction in the third quarter, analysts are downgrading expectations for this year. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts released in January note, a weaker Germany, as well as renewed slowdowns in France and Italy, is contributing to reduced growth forecasts for 2019 for Europe as a whole. The European Central Bank (ECB)—the one European-wide instrument of economic policy—has recently adopted a more cautious outlook for future growth, even as it plans to pull back from the exceptional financing role that it finally took on in 2015, post-Euro crisis. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Europe as well as the United States is experiencing popular challenge to the post-war governing consensus in support of open borders, globalization, and a rules-based international order. The “No” vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum was one early sign. Demonstrations in France by the “gilets jaunes,’ or yellow jackets, are the most recent. The crumbling of support for traditional parties and governments in Europe—notable over the past year in Germany, France, and Italy—has not been accompanied by a U.S.-style push-back against global trade and globalization. There are signs of political strains within the EU as newer members from the former Soviet bloc—notably Hungary and Poland—buck against the norms of Western democracy and institutional safeguards for civil liberties and democratic opposition that have been part and parcel of EU membership. But interestingly, there is not—at least as yet—a strong challenge to the EU itself or its economic rules, despite the strains now evident in France as well as Italy from adhering to the Brussels’ rules for fiscal discipline. These rules continue to be largely accepted, albeit grudgingly, as an essential part of the EU bargain for Germany, which fears ending up with the bill if others overspend. On trade, Europe remains open internally—with a question mark over its future relationship with the United Kingdom—and it negotiates as a single trading bloc with the rest of the world. European nations have been an integral part of the global trading system and have gained enormously from expanding trade among themselves and with the rest of the world. The threat to globalization and global supply chains from rising trade tensions is thus a threat to continued prosperity in Europe, as is the risk to transatlantic trade from President Trump’s policies. Some 30 percent of European exports go to the United States. Partly in reaction to the new U.S. stance on trade, the EU has hastened discussions with other partners, recently completing trade agreements with Japan and Canada. The EU has also boosted ties with China, which has rapidly expanded foreign direct investment into Europe from €700 million in 2008 to over €30 billion. Europe’s Approach to the Digital Era Europeans gave the world the car, the radio, high-speed trains, and even the minitel, a forerunner of the internet. As recently as 15 years ago, Nokia and Ericsson were world-class technology companies. Europe at one point had its own space program. But so far in the digital age, Europe has not succeeded in spurring such innovations, or growing a digital giant. European technology companies comprise only 4 percent of the top 200, according to Atomic, even though Europe’s total economy is over 20 percent of global GDP. And the broad ambitions of the DSM are far from being met. Clearly, Europe’s environment has not been friendly to the emerging new world of advanced information technology. But as public concerns about the internet have grown more widespread, including crossing the Atlantic to the United States, this is a good moment to examine Europe’s approach. Some in Europe hope to find a “Third Way.” Could a regulatory regime between laissez-faire America and state-controlled China support a democratic, better regulated internet that avoids the increasingly evident pitfalls of today’s models? For many in the United States, in particular in Silicon Valley, European policy towards new technology has seemed short-sighted and contradictory. Niall Ferguson’s paper for an earlier session in this series, points to a tension, for example, in Europe’s policy approach of requiring companies to police the content on their platforms. Ferguson puts it critically thus: that Europe wants to “live off network platforms” by taxing and fining them, while avoiding government responsibilities in “delegating public censorship” choices to private companies. More broadly, while many in Europe pine for a “European Google” or “European Amazon” to demonstrate European achievement and success, their policies towards information technology companies have mostly been focused on regulation and restriction. Some EU policymakers seem to believe that taxing and regulating U.S. companies will help European challengers to emerge. But instead, so far, many European entrepreneurs and innovators have found their way to the United States to start or grow their companies. The debate in the United States is now changing. In particular, the more vigorous antitrust actions of Europe’s current Competition Commissioner—one of the 28 Commissioners that lead the European Commission in Brussels—have drawn support outside Europe. Some academics see a connection between growing industrial concentration, including among a few large data-driven tech companies, and the wealth and income inequality that is a feature of today’s divided societies. More broadly, it is becoming apparent that European criticisms about “Big Tech” foreshadowed concerns that are increasingly voiced in the United States, by politicians and commentators and even some tech leaders. The revelations of Cambridge Analytica’s harvesting and use for political purposes of personal data from millions of people’s Facebook profiles ignited concerns in the United States. But it just reinforced long held suspicions in Europe. Governments, particularly in the larger countries that dominate in EU-wide decisions in Brussels, had long been concerned that American tech companies are too big, too powerful, too intrusive in daily life, too careless of individual privacy, and insufficiently mindful of the impact of their content on democracy and society. In response, Europe has moved to curtail internet company freedoms, to impose a strict privacy regime in 2018 (the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR) and to levy large fines on major American tech firms for what the EU regulator deems to be anti-competitive behavior. Now some U.S. commentators are arguing that there are useful lessons for U.S. policy in this approach. Europe’s economic performance suggests a more nuanced picture. Despite perhaps prescient understanding of some pitfalls of new technology, European countries have not established a consistent or successful policy regime to foster “home grown” innovation, nor have they effectively clipped the wings of the large American (and sometimes Chinese) tech companies operating in Europe. No European company has yet made it into the list of top global technology companies, while American and Chinese internet behemoths dominate the top 15 and Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea also have major giants in the information and technology (ICT) sector. This record is irksome for many governments in Europe, who have held out hope that advanced technology could boost productivity and raise living standards. As long ago as 2011, former French President Sarkozy—host that year of the G-8 group of leading economies—called for an “E-8” forum of global technology companies to draw lessons for world leaders. At the forum, headlined “The Internet: Accelerating Growth,” Sarkozy declared that the internet had transformed the world and “yesterday’s dreams have become realities and the universe of possibilities grows broader around us every day.” Today’s President Emmanuel Macron, after taking office (and before the recent upheavals in the streets), called on entrepreneurs to come to France to start their businesses. In late 2018, he spearheaded a conference to encourage European “Govtech” companies. In Germany, the government-sponsored project “Industry 4.0” was set up to harness advanced technology to Germany’s traditional industrial strength. A task force published recommendations in 2012 intended to speed the transformation of Germany’s industrial machine and maintain it at the forefront of the global economy in the new digital age. President Merkel at Davos in January 2019 called for international ethical standards on data handling, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering. But she acknowledged that for Europe to take a leading role in shaping standards it would have to become “an important actor” in the industry itself. At an EU-level, as mentioned above, countries embarked on the ambitious DSM to break down barriers to the spread of digital services across the whole of Europe. And, recognizing the importance of financing for technology start-ups, the EU decided to boost public funding for venture capital through the European Investment Fund (EIF), an offshoot of the EU’s public bank, the European Investment Bank, which channels funds to European government projects. The EIF now supports an estimated 40 percent of European venture funds, with 10 percent of start-up funding directly attributable to EIF money. Despite these moves, a gap has persisted between governments’ intentions to foster advanced technology and innovation and the results. This is unsurprising. Policymakers from the EU in Brussels to governments in Berlin, Paris, and elsewhere have focused more on how to regulate and, more recently, tax new technology, and less on identifying and removing constraints to innovation and growth of digital firms. In particular, their actions have been aimed at protecting consumers—and existing business models—from potential problems, notably in the realms of privacy, data protection, inappropriate content, and anti-trust (competition policy). They have been less attentive to concerns expressed by digital companies, including European start-ups, such as the lack of venture capital or deep markets for risk finance, high taxation, government red-tape for business establishment, inflexible labor laws that make it costly to fail—an integral part of Silicon Valley culture. Antitrust policy has been used vigorously, with record fines against Google and Apple (both of which are appealing) for what the EU’s competition authorities deem to be harmful use of market power and, in Apple’s case, access to tax deals that amount to unfair state subsidies (disallowed in the EU). The DSM project is a good illustration of the tension in the EU approach so far. The scope for promoting economic activity and connection across Europe is clear. But the approach has been bureaucratically cumbersome and inordinately slow. The European Commission in Brussels has predicted that reducing barriers to digital trade across borders could lead to gains of €415 billion a year for the European economy. Just to take one example, European consumers shopping online tend to focus on national websites, making only 15 percent of their purchases from websites in another country. A true single market could also help to drive success among European companies, including the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which form the backbone of Germany and many other European economies. Today SMEs do not exploit the whole European market place, selling only 7 percent of their goods across borders, according to the European Commission, which argued that an ambitious DSM would open up opportunities for these companies to sell across Europe. As noted in a Forbes article comparing the U.S. and European environments for technology, based on a study by the American Enterprise Institute, “the reason that the US beat the EU in mobile and internet was because of a common set of American rules and standards. Once networks were built, devices, apps, and services could get national distribution on day one, all with a common language, currency, and light-touch regulatory policy. Such a dynamic was never possible in the EU with its 24 languages, 17 currencies and fragmented regulatory approach, which precluded the development of pan-European networks, services and apps.” Today’s innovative technology companies are built on delivering services via the internet—from streaming films to supplying goods to driving people more cheaply and conveniently. Companies based in the United States—or China for that matter—begin with a built-in advantage of a huge internal market. Since the DSM initiative was launched in 2015, the EC has developed complex proposals to guide digital policy in as many as 25 different policy areas, ranging from copyright laws to privacy to regulations governing the provision of audio-visual content across borders and the rules around telecommunications companies. The focus on reaching agreement on detailed rules to govern fast changing activities has undercut success. Rather than opening up a large digital market, attractive to investors, of 300 million people across Europe, the broad range of regulatory proposals has led to contentious and difficult discussions and only a few instances where markets have actually been liberalized across Europe. Successes include getting rid of unpopular data roaming charges on phones and making it possible to download content purchased in one country when traveling in another. European countries have also agreed on net neutrality—still a controversial and politically divisive issue in the United States—and a prohibition on data localization requirements, or the requirement to keep data (in data centers) in the country of origin. A code to support consistent spectrum use, to support adoption of 5G across Europe, is under discussion. Some argue that the May 2018 adoption of the GDPR has at least clarified rules around personal data protection requirements within the EU, thus reducing the uncertainty that inhibits business development, while also addressing public concerns about the misuse of personal data by internet companies. However, agreement is still pending on an updated “e-privacy” regulation, which would lay out more detailed requirements, consistent with GDPR, for all digital services (including the Internet of Things) regarding personal data and communications. Technology advocates hope that these requirements will not forestall innovations—as yet unimagined. And many note that the costly investments needed to meet stringent privacy requirements may be easiest for large, established, and mostly U.S. companies. GDPR will meanwhile inhibit access from within Europe to services whose providers are unable or unwilling to incur the costs of ensuring GDPR compliance. Some non-European news outlets and gaming services have said they will withdraw from Europe rather than run the risk of heavy fines. Most recently the complex “trilogue” process of coordinating across the European Parliament, the European Commission, and member states failed to produce final agreement on copyright reform, pushing the issue further into 2019 when a meeting in late January was pulled down because of broad opposition. The copyright issue is one that has again pitted technology companies against European policymakers and shown the power of incumbent companies. Changes to the law governing online use of copyrighted material garnered support in the EC as a way to counter the “value gap” between the pre-digital revenues of creative and media industries and the much-reduced revenues as consumers have switched to streaming and downloading versus buying books and records, DVDs, and CDs. “Old media” companies and representatives of the publishing and music publishing industries supported changes as a way to bolster their bargaining power when selling rights to digital platforms. Many artists joined them. Technology companies such as Google and Facebook have meanwhile lobbied strongly against these changes. Stricter copyright provisions would require them to use costly filters or run the risk of fines as users upload and share billions of hours of content. These companies have argued that consumers are the ones that have benefited from the “value gap” as they have been able to access content through ad-supported platforms on the web, and that the main beneficiaries of the proposed EU changes would be intermediaries—publishers and recording studios—rather than artists, musicians, and writers. The big digital companies also argue that giving new rights to publishers of newspapers, reducing the ability of internet companies to post “snippets” of news, would also be against consumer interests. Internet advocates fear a clamp-down on internet freedoms would result from increased liability for copyright infringement. Overly strict copyright provisions could ultimately hurt European consumers if the availability of content on the web shrinks as companies err on the side of caution to avoid fines. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the legislative and regulatory process for evaluating these competing claims and trying to “future proof” the law led to compromises that appear to have left everyone unhappy. It remains to be seen whether the powerful incumbent companies in Europe will win the changes that they want. Such results from the DSM are unlikely to spur innovation or to foster a home-grown European FANG or GAFA (common—and not complimentary—acronyms respectively for Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Google, or Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon). And despite four years of intense work the DSM is a long way from meeting the goals set out in May 2015 of creating a true digital knowledge-based economy in the EU, where Europe is “a place that nurtures investment and entrepreneurship,” where businesses using digital technology flourish and can “become global leaders in sectors of the future.” Time is now running out. The current European Commissioners, led by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, will leave office in the spring of 2019. It is not clear whether their successors will take up the mantle of the DSM. A long-standing debate over taxation has also alienated U.S. tech companies and at the same time tarnished their reputation in Europe. Citizens in the United Kingdom and many other European countries—aware of the large penetration in their countries of companies such as Facebook, Google, and others—complain vigorously that these companies do not pay their “fair share” in taxes. Their complaints are typically focused in particular on the platform companies that make their money by advertising. Such complaints have two elements. The first concerns the ability of sophisticated global companies, including those based in Europe, to exploit complex and overlapping tax treaties around the world to minimize their corporate tax payments, booking profits in welcoming jurisdictions with little or no tax. Reforms to the international tax system are now slowly taking shape, under the aegis of the G-20 group of major economies, supported by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Some reforms are falling into place, based on the notion that profits should be taxed according to the jurisdiction where value is created. But while this notion may be easy to agree in principle, it is much harder to agree to specific changes. The heart of the debate is highly political: which nations’ coffers should get the benefit of taxing the profits of which global companies, and to what extent. The web of bilateral and multilateral tax treaties has built up over years. It is lucrative for many intermediaries as well as for companies, and some wealthy individuals, that use complex corporate structures to shift profits from one jurisdiction to another. It is worth noting that as long as these schemes are legal, shareholders (including institutional investors who are managing pension assets etc.) also have an interest in companies using them. Why pay tax that is not legally required? Companies with much of their value in “intangibles” whether brands—such as Starbucks or Louis Vuitton, or software companies such as Facebook or Google—have been able to do this “profit shifting” more easily than many. Until U.S. tax law was changed in 2017, it both rewarded and facilitated schemes for U.S. companies to keep as much of their profits as possible overseas, untaxed until repatriated. This has now changed, which should facilitate global agreement. However, the second element to Europe’s complaints about American tech giants will not be resolved by international agreement over corporate income tax. It concerns what is a “fair share” of tax for global companies to pay, and whether or not this should be based on profitability i.e. corporate income after costs and investments, or simply on gross income—which would be a major shift in international tax practice with many ramifications. Google, Facebook, and Amazon seem ubiquitous in Europe, given widespread consumer use of their services. These companies—especially the first two—also have large advertising revenues in the continent. But the services that they provide to consumers are largely created in the United States, where the bulk of costly software engineers and data centers are located. European revenues are only possible because of costs incurred outside Europe, costs which should be offset against revenues when calculating profitability. The value actually created in Europe is analogous to the value created by sales and distribution offices for automobiles or other goods made in one country but exported and sold in another. This analysis is not accepted by many in Europe, who have now turned instead to proposals for taxing gross revenues rather than profits—at least for certain activities. The European commission put forward proposals in 2018 to impose a special tax on digital revenues of large companies. The Europe-wide move has been dropped for the time being after U.S. complaints and fears in some European countries of potential retaliation against their profitable companies that produce at home but sell overseas. However, individual countries, including France and even the United Kingdom, have plans to go ahead with a special tax on gross revenues under certain circumstances. The specific aim—to collect more from U.S. digital giants however justified under traditional tax practices—is clear. Germany decided to back an EC move once this was narrowed to a tax on digital advertising revenues. The European reaction to the digital age has been a reflection of different societal norms and historical experiences. Europe of course does not have a First Amendment guaranteeing free speech, which has so influenced the development of the internet in the United States. Historical events have conditioned commonly accepted legal restraints on speech and actions that violate societal norms, such as denying the Holocaust, which is illegal in France for example. Other differences abound. In Germany, there is enormous resistance to incursions of privacy as memories persist of an intrusive state, with Stasi agents in the East penetrating everywhere. Concerns about privacy, also coming more to the fore in the United States now, are particularly resonant in Europe when private profit-making companies are seen to benefit from invading privacy. In France, for example, people are generally more comfortable with the notion of a powerful centralized state than with powerful private companies that have also led to enormous private wealth. The extensive use of CCTV for policing, as in the United Kingdom, would probably horrify Americans. Conversely, while in the United States and many other countries there is easy acceptance of the need for a national ID (such as a Social Security card), attempts to introduce one in the United Kingdom have foundered on outraged public opposition. European caution towards internet companies has been compounded by actions of some of the largest tech companies as they expanded into these markets without first understanding their societies or explaining carefully their own business models. The “move fast and break things” mantra of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and the widespread “fail fast” slogans, together with the focus on disruption that many California companies espoused did not sit well with European policy makers. Mistakes included digitizing French literature and mapping German streets without publicizing and consulting with governments and other stakeholders first. Both Uber and Airbnb discovered that disrupting at scale unites opposition from existing industries and governments and often citizens. The death of high street shops is an emotive issue in England, tempering enthusiasm for Amazon. European governments were also less impressed by declarations of good intentions (“do no evil” from Google’s founders) and more likely to look for the profit motive behind companies’ actions. Today, many believe that developments from the uncovering of Russian influence in the U.S. elections via internet platforms, to the data breaches belatedly being recognized as a result of GDPR, suggest they were right. How will the economic, financial, and regulatory issues, and structures that have been important in shaping the environment in Europe for technology adoption, play out over the coming period? It is worth looking separately at EU member states and the United Kingdom. First, the likelihood of some form of Brexit means that the United Kingdom may make different economic and regulatory choices going forward. Secondly, the two areas have historically had different economic structures and approaches to business and finance. The U.K. economic system is closer to that of the United States with a more heavily finance- and services-dominated economy, and a bias for less regulation. The United Kingdom also has by far the largest advertising industry in Europe, with digital advertising accounting for more than €15 billion, or over 40 percent of all advertising spent in the United Kingdom in 2017, according to studies by the IAB and Zenith. This compares to digital advertising spending of €5–7 billion in France and Germany respectively. These factors have combined to make London something of a tech hub—with a strong startup community, particularly around fintech. But the cosmopolitan and globalized nature of the city and its industries could be threatened by Brexit, in particular if a chill on immigration impacts companies’ ability to hire top global talent and a shift in the investment climate cuts funding. (For the first time since 2011, London was toppled (by the Netherlands) from number one in Europe for private equity deals in 2018.) At the same time, under Theresa May’s government, there has been growing political support for more regulation, both to spur home-grown competition and to deter terrorist content on the internet, which Prime Minister May has singled out as a possible cause of terror attacks in the United Kingdom. One interesting recent development in the United Kingdom is the government’s decision to commission a study of competition and the use of data in the digital economy. The government has chosen an American academic and policy maker, former adviser to President Obama, Jason Furman, to lead a small expert panel which will report with policy recommendations in the first part of 2019. The review is expected to consider whether «big data» creates barriers for smaller players and if artificial intelligence may alter the way collusion can take place between the big players. Broader competition issues, including how OFCOM, the U.K. competition regulator, should handle digital mergers and acquisitions, will also be covered. The U.K. Finance Ministry heralded the study with a combination of praise for the potential of new technology—which it estimated could contribute £60 billion a year to the U.K. economy by 2020—and a warning that concentration among big players—for which read GAFA—could stifle innovation. As Chancellor Philip Hammond put it: “Our digital economy is one of the UK’s great strengths, employing two million people across the country. But people are concerned that the big players could be accumulating too much power in our new digital world. The work this panel is doing will help ensure we have the right regulations so that our digital markets are competitive and consumers are protected.” The study was generally greeted in the U.K. press as a shot across the bows of the big U.S. tech companies. But the government is also looking for ways to make the U.K. economy attractive for technology innovators at a time when Brexit fears have dampened business investment—which fell for three consecutive quarters in 2018, the first time since the 2008/09 crisis—and threaten growth more broadly. It has noted potential ways that fast developing artificial intelligence improving data analytics and computing can solve public problems—from traffic congestion, measurement of air quality, diagnosis of medical conditions—as well as improve business productivity. In sum, the balancing act continues. On the one hand, the government is welcoming innovative companies, whose clever use of “big data” has funded much-loved consumer services from Google’s search to Instagram to YouTube. On the other hand, it wants to choke off inappropriate or “creepy” business practices that depend on using personal data, reserving a special concern for “ad-funded” models. Turning to the EU, it is likely that Europe making rules without the United Kingdom will tend to be even less like the United States in its approach to business, finance, and technology. Four key characteristics of the political economy, apart from the bias to legislate and regulate to bind together disparate polities, have inhibited the development of large IT companies so far. As technology advances in years to come and is incorporated more widely across industries and economies, the impact of these factors may be different. The first, and most important, factor is the structure of Europe’s economy, particularly in the large core nations. The focus in the first wave of the digital revolution on consumer services powered by software does not play to Europe’s industrial strengths. Services account for the largest share of EU GDP and employment, as in all advanced economies. But their proportion is 10 percentage points less in EU than in the United States. In Europe, in particular Germany (which accounts for a fifth of EU GDP), traditional industry plays a bigger role than in the United States (or the United Kingdom). The wave of new technology and the big U.S. tech companies have been mostly characterized by “intangibles:” search, social media, ridesharing, e-commerce. All of these depend for success on advances in software and provision of services. Many are funded through advertising—on-line advertising doubled in the EU between 2010 and 2015—finely targeted by analyzing data on their customers. Even Apple, in many ways a hardware company, has succeeded through the clever software that enabled it to make superbly designed “smart” phones, that have just got smarter over the years. This is not the sweet spot for European industry, whether the quality craft goods manufactured in Northern Italy or the cars and heavy machinery of Germany’s industrial machine. A European phone manufacturer, Nokia, used to be a world leader. But it did not adapt well to the software-powered shift to mobile smart phones. After being sold to Microsoft, the brand lost further ground and is now licensed by a third party to make a fraction of the number of phones. In 2018, the most popular phones across all European countries came from Apple or South Korea’s Samsung (which uses Google’s Android operating system). The small businesses that dominate employment have also been slower to take up new technology than their consumers. In France, a study showed that fewer than 20 percent of businesses sold their products online, while French consumers buy more than 50 percent of their goods online. Clearly there is a space here for retailers to exploit. As robotics, additive manufacturing, and AI increasingly change the way that goods are produced, the efficient industries of Europe are likely to transform more readily than their societies embraced the consumer-oriented products of FANG/GAFA. Engineering is famously strong in Germany. Europe also has companies that excel in the bio-sciences. Artificial intelligence—or machine learning—will expand the scope for digital software to be incorporated into manufacturing “smart” hardware. European policymakers anticipate success for their companies in the expected world of the internet of things, with everything from smart fridges and heating systems to smart factories with reinvented manufacturing processes that rely on artificial intelligence and robotics. Auto manufacturers in Europe are already including many lines of code in the latest Mercedes or Peugeot. At the same time, tech companies that followed their software innovations into investments in self-driving cars have realized that manufacturing, distributing, and selling vehicles is a very different business. Google joined with Fiat/Chrysler to develop autonomous vehicles that require not only digital smarts but engineering prowess and an understanding of how to design, produce, and distribute a successful car. Another development that may favor European companies in the future is the development of “Govtech” or companies built to support government operations. The large role played by European governments in their economies, from the provision of public health and medical services to building and maintaining fast and modern train services, opens opportunities for companies to sell new technology solutions to the public sector. Government payments systems are also much more extensive than in the United States, from payments to individuals for pensions, unemployment assistance, housing support, and so on, to regional and local government transfers. As elsewhere, citizens and politicians alike can see considerable scope for improvement in public services. Advanced technology—particularly driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence—can surely help. Indeed, a study by Accenture and PUBLIC (which organized the 2018 Paris summit on govtech) found that there are over 2000 European start-ups already working on “govtech.” PUBLIC argues that governments, already spending more than €20 billion in Europe on new technology solutions to old problems, are increasingly open to using smaller firms—startups and scale-ups—to provide the ideas and technology that is required. Areas ripe for innovation include core operations, such as managing personnel and modernizing welfare payments systems, to the more efficient provision of public services such as transportation. Europe’s less than adventurous financial sector—which has also been burdened post-financial crisis by a weight of poor performance lingering from the crisis—has slowed start-up development. This is likely to remain a drag on the adoption of new technology, due in particular to the relative scarcity of risk finance and private equity investors. The debate across the Atlantic (and the English Channel) about whether a bank-centered or capital market-centered financial system is better for economic growth has continued for years. Europeans deplore the short-termism and over-financialization of London and New York and of the U.K./U.S. economies, and attribute volatility and occasional collapses to that difference. But Europe’s smaller financial sector, dominated by banks rather than capital markets, has made it harder to finance new ideas and new ventures in Europe. The deep relationships in Europe between industry and finance—as well as the less-discussed but also very close links between the state and banks large and small—have supported existing companies at the expense of financing new and unexplored ones. This phenomenon is self-reinforcing. As we can see in the United States, venture capital is highly contextual and localized. Investors in risky new ideas tend to have a deep knowledge of the sectors they are funding, forming a part of a highly localized ecosystem of innovators and developers. Successful entrepreneurs in turn become funders of others with new ideas. They typically hear about, and then support, entrepreneurs in their vicinity. There is some evidence that Brexit will push more innovative financiers and financial institutions across the Channel and help provide financing to new ventures in Europe. But a welcoming business environment will also be critical. This leads to a third characteristic of Europe’s economy that has made investors in new markets and products chary of Europe: inflexible labor markets, high levels of taxation to pay for extensive social safety nets and in some countries—as evidenced in France at the end of 2018—suspicion of a system that promotes business success and allows extreme wealth, while also permitting failure with relatively easy bankruptcy provisions and an openness on the part of investors (especially in new technology) to financing entrepreneurs who may have stumbled in an earlier venture but have learned from that. Less flexibility in the economy, both in labor markets and in the ease of opening and closing businesses, makes it harder and more expensive for companies to unwind mistakes. In turn, this discourages experimentation—an essential part of the innovation economy. There is a flip side to this traditional criticism of Europe, however. Even confirmed free marketers such as The Economist magazine and middle-of-the road American economists have voiced concerns that dysfunction and persistent inequality in advanced Western democracies are undermining social and political consensus. A renewed interest in antitrust policy, some of it aimed directly at tech giants, is evident in the United States. And, more broadly, there is growing interest in the potential role of government to address these issues. Globalization of trade, production supply chains, and capital has been blamed for declining industrial cities, growing geographic disparities and a rural-urban divide in America and other advanced economies. But studies suggest that rapid technological changes have played a more important part than trade. Looking ahead, such changes are expected to come even more quickly with the spread of advanced technology, in particular artificial intelligence (AI). Some argue that future advances in AI and robotics will allow companies in richer countries to economize so much on their use of labor that wage costs will diminish sufficiently in importance to allow them to bring manufacturing and production back home, rather than relying on today’s global supply chains to outsource to cheaper overseas labor. Of course, this raises concerns about whether there will be sufficient employment to provide jobs in advanced countries, including Europe, for those who want and need them. As economists such as Jason Furman have pointed out, such concerns have arisen many times in the past and been proved wrong. Demands for goods and services rise as they become cheaper (think how different our consumption basket is from that of our grandparents). And over the past seven decades, governments have managed economic and business cycles with considerable success to balance employment and inflation goals through macroeconomic budget and monetary policies. However, just as the influx of Chinese workers into the world economy—via Chinese-made goods—is one factor that has held down real wages globally, it is possible that dramatic advances in technology also hold down wages as companies can use “intelligent” machines to carry out many tasks now done by humans. Concerns about this impact on inequality are behind work being done now by economists and policymakers to see how best to improve the bargaining power and incomes of disrupted workers. Europe may provide a more friendly environment for the policies needed to manage the coming industrial changes and address the “Future of Work” in an age of intelligent machines. Many new ideas about how to cope with the consequences of automation coming from AI look to the state to play a bigger role. One set of ideas emphasizes a government role in providing safety nets and income support for those whose livelihoods are threatened or lost because of technology-driven change in the workplace. Government regulations around working hours and paid leave policies transformed the balance of power between employers and employees during the industrial revolution and could do so again. Another set of ideas for managing the consequences of the next wave of technology involves scaling up education and training to smooth potentially difficult transitions from old to new industries. Business has an interest in well trained workers, although new, smaller companies may not be well-prepared to support training initiatives. Public funding of educational infrastructure is better in Europe, and produces better outcomes, than in the United States. The apprentice system in Germany and Switzerland, for example, is an already tried and tested way to train workers in skills that employers want. In addition, excellent research institutions in Europe (AI in France and Switzerland, engineering in Germany) may support more made-in-Europe companies in the new areas being opened up in the next wave of innovation. Some of the large American tech companies are exploring ways to work with European governments to build on these research skills. In sum, Europe’s social policies, healthcare provision, unemployment insurance, and cheaper education and training may prove an advantage for the take up and absorption of future new technologies. A final important characteristic of European economies and regulatory systems is the power of incumbent businesses. Anti-trust regulation in Brussels—which acts for all EU countries—incorporates a role for business complainants, who are able effectively to block a negotiated agreement between the regulator and a company accused of anti-competitive behavior. Whereas in the United States the standard for antitrust has been consumer welfare, Europe’s competition regulator commented, when fining Google for anti-competitive behavior in the recent Android case, that manufacturers of phone equipment had been damaged by Google’s linking free access to its attractive Play Store to inclusion of its search engine on phones. As some commentators have noted, the outcome so far of the case—that Google has changed its practices but is charging a license fee to manufacturers to make up for potential ad revenue losses from search—may end up raising phone prices for consumers. More generally, the interests of many existing European businesses who fear competition from American disruptors and have close links to their governments are behind the push in Europe for more copyright protection, for restraints on competition for telecom companies and publishers, for restrictions on Airbnb and Uber, and for rules for e-commerce. Again, these differences reflect political choices and may play out differently in the future. Few believe that the very lengthy European process where antitrust cases may take years to resolve is the best way to promote innovation and stop monopoly behavior. This is particularly true in a market place of rapid change where competition can come from unexpected places, business models shift, and new inventions can disrupt apparently dominant companies. But there is increasing interest worldwide in checking the market power of big tech companies, or at least ensuring that it is being used appropriately. As technology disperses throughout businesses and economies, more local European companies could see it as in their interests to develop policies and an environment that supports rather than inhibits tech. As the stake of European companies in new technology increases, this may impact government and societies’ attitudes more broadly. It will be interesting to see, for example, how European views on data “ownership” and taxation of digital revenues may change when the major data using companies include French retailers or German car manufacturers, as well as U.S. tech giants and U.S./U.K. financial institutions. At the same time, the revelations about the widespread dissemination of personal data shared—perhaps unwittingly—by consumers using internet platforms are changing attitudes even in Silicon Valley. As in the rest of the world, European leaders and citizens look to new technology to boost productivity, improve lives, and support growth and jobs. Europe is the largest market for American digital companies after the United States. Unlike in poorer areas of the world, where internet access is limited by poor infrastructure, Europe has high penetration of broadband and Wi-Fi and broad adoption of smart mobile phones—similar to the 70 percent figure for the United States. Nevertheless, the impact on Europe’s economy of advanced technology has been curbed so far by its still-fragmented market, despite the efforts of the European Commission to establish a digital single market, and a bias toward regulation, legislation, and taxation. At the same time, some of the traditional characteristics of Europe’s economy—notably its provision of high-quality public services and mechanisms for income support, as well as its engineering prowess—could be to Europe’s advantage in the next phase of advanced technology. As public attitudes towards Big Tech have cooled more generally, concerns outside Europe have grown about the opaque and perhaps abusive use of personal data, security breaches, political manipulation through social media, and excessive concentration of market power in a few large companies. In this light, Europe’s regulatory approach may have some appeal. That approach has almost certainly put pressure on tech companies to improve their business practices and take more care to safeguard the privacy and welfare of their consumers. As governments worldwide, including in the United States, grapple with these issues in the next phase of technological advance, they can learn from Europe’s experience. One thing is clear: a deeper understanding on both sides—governments and technologists—is needed to craft a sensible policy regime, one that fosters innovation while being clear-eyed about the need to curb its potential costs. Caroline Atkinson is the former head of global policy for Google, Inc. and served as deputy national security advisor for international economics in the Obama administration. She now sits on the board of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Caroline Atkinson More from Governance In An Emerging New World Observations from the Roundtable: The Information Challenge to Democracy More from Foreign Affairs & National Security Beijing Diplomats Now Tap Into The World Of Tweeting quoting Elizabeth Economy	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1273
__label__cc	0.739883	0.260117	By leaving a gift to Hope and Aid Direct in your Will, you will be joining the thousands of other people who want to stand up for men, women and children fleeing war, oppression and violence. Refugees have often survived brutal suffering. They’ve been forced to leave their homes, friends, families and everything they’ve ever known. They’ve travelled to an unknown place in search of safety, sometimes with just the clothes they stand up in. They’re incredibly brave people. But one of the biggest challenges they face is making a new life. Leaving a legacy to Hope and Aid Direct will help us to help refugees long into the future. It will allow people who’ve lost everything to feel welcomed, respected and safe. It will make sure we can continue to give them the tools to rebuild their lives and start again. It will protect people seeking safety from being left without support. “It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that after your death you will still be giving someone else the chance to experience the freedoms that you have had.” If you’d like to know more, for a more informal chat about leaving a legacy, please contact us. Contact us If you decide to leave a legacy or have already included Hope and Aid Direct in your will, please contact us to let us know so that we can contact you in the future should the charity’s circumstances change, and of course so that we can say thank you! Contact us Updated: 11th March, 2019	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1274
__label__wiki	0.669599	0.669599	Section – 11 : Income13 from property held for charitable or religious purposes. Section – 12A : Conditions for applicability of sections 11 and 12 Section – 12 : Income of trusts or institutions from contributions CHAPTER III - Incomes which do not form part of total income 12. (1) Any voluntary contributions received by a trust created wholly for charitable or religious purposes or by an institution established wholly for such purposes (not being contributions made with a specific direction that they shall form part of the corpus of the trust or institution) shall for the purposes of section 11 be deemed to be income derived from property held under trust wholly for charitable or religious purposes and the provisions of that section and section 13 shall apply accordingly. (2) The value of any services, being medical or educational services, made available by any charitable or religious trust running a hospital or medical institution or an educational institution, to any person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (cc) or clause (d) of sub-section (3) of section 13, shall be deemed to be income of such trust or institution derived from property held under trust wholly for charitable or religious purposes during the previous year in which such services are so provided and shall be chargeable to income-tax notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 11. Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression “value” shall be the value of any benefit or facility granted or provided free of cost or at concessional rate to any person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (cc) or clause (d) of sub-section (3) of section 13. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 11, any amount of donation received by the trust or institution in terms of clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 80G in respect of which accounts of income and expenditure have not been rendered to the authority prescribed under clause (v) of sub-section (5C) of that section, in the manner specified in that clause, or which has been utilised for purposes other than providing relief to the victims of earthquake in Gujarat or which remains unutilised in terms of sub-section (5C) of section 80G and not transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund on or before the 31st day of March, 2004 shall be deemed to be the income of the previous year and shall accordingly be charged to tax.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1276
__label__wiki	0.930172	0.930172	HouseOfNames > Bavish Bavish History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms Bavish The name Bavish is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived on Beverege, an island in the Severn River, about 4 miles north of Worcester. "Mr. Beveridge says the origin of the name is to be found in 'Beverege,' the name of an island in the Severn referred to by Florence of Worcester as a retreat of the Danes during a revolt of the English [in 1041]. The name, he correctly says, means 'Beaver island,' from Old English befer or beofer, and ig or ige, island." [1]CITATION[CLOSE] Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3) Later known as Bevere Island, this island became a refuge once again during the Black Death. Camden notes: "The existence of the beaver in Britain within historical memory seems proved by such names as Beverege, Beverley, perhaps but less likely Beverstone in Gloucestershire." He speaks of beavers in his time in the Teifi, but in Teifi only. Another source noted the name was derived from "Beferige, i. e. 'the Beaver's edge,' Several other local names in Befer, in that collection, show that the beaver was an inhabitant of this island in Saxon times." [2]CITATION[CLOSE] Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. While the name Bavish may have arisen in the southwest of England, it is generally associated with Yorkshire and Scotland. Early Origins of the Bavish family The surname Bavish was first found in Buckinghamshire where the first record of the family was Wido, William Beverage who was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1212 and later in the Pipe Rolls of Surrey in 1230. Richard Bevereche was listed c. 1240 in Huntingdonshire. The Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1280 list William Bauerich. [3]CITATION[CLOSE] Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) This latter source notes the origin of the name as having derived from the Middle English word "beuerage," or the Old French word "bevrege, buverage" meaning "drink, liquor for consumption." By far, the lion's share of sources claim that the name originates from the aforementioned Beverege Island with this source and one other eluding to the more contemporary use of the word. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: Hugh Beverach, Cambridgeshire; Ralph Beverache, Cambridgeshire; Agnes Beverach, Cambridgeshire; Halter Beverage, Lincolnshire; and Thomas Beverage, Yorkshire. [4]CITATION[CLOSE] Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) Some of the family moved north into Northumberland and into Scotland about the year 1200. In Scotland it was a name very difficult for the Scottish tongue, pronunciation and spellings became numerous. Here they settled in St. Andrews in 1302 where Walter Beverage is named as juror on an inquest at St. Andrews. Years later, Henry Beveragh was witness in Paisley, 1504 and a decree against Alexander Bauerage is recorded in 1531. David Beverage was cup-bearer to James V in 1534. [1]CITATION[CLOSE] Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3) Early History of the Bavish family This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bavish research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1923, 1637, 1708, 1704, 1708, 1636 and 1637 are included under the topic Early Bavish History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bavish Spelling Variations It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Bavish are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Bavish include: Beveridge, Belfridge, Belfrage, Beverage, Beveradge, Bevidge, Bevige, Berridge and many more. Early Notables of the Bavish family (pre 1700) Distinguished members of the family include William Beveridge (1637-1708), an English clergyman, Bishop of St Asaph (1704-1708.) He was the "son of the Rev. William Beveridge, B.D., was... Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bavish Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Bavish family to the New World and Oceana Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Bavish or a variant listed above: John Beveridge who settled in New England in 1685; Mary Beveridge settled in Maryland in 1774; Robert Beveridge arrived in New York in 1823; William Bevidge landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1864.. Bavish Family Crest Products Bavish Armorial History With Coat of Arms Bavish Coat of Arms & Surname History Package Bavish Family Crest Image (jpg) Heritage Series Bavish Coat of Arms/Family Crest Key-chain Bavish Coat of Arms/Family Crest Coffee Mug Bavish Armorial History with Frame Bavish Framed Surname History and Coat of Arms Pipe Rolls ^ Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3) ^ Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. ^ Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1277
__label__wiki	0.516815	0.516815	Too Hot for Satellite When Bubba the Love Sponge and his manager, Brent, came into the studio, Howard immediately asked what Bubba did yesterday to get thrown off the air at SIRIUS. Bubba explained that he found an intern in the building, told her that he wanted to talk about sex with her on the air and even gave her a "safe word" she could use if the conversation got too graphic. With her consent, Bubba then did just that. During their time on the air, Bubba recalled that he began talking about rough sex, and at one point, with the intern's approval, demonstrated one of his moves. It was at this point, Bubba said, that he was taken off the air. After hearing the story, Tom Chiusano came into the studio to inform Bubba that no one is allowed to talk to interns that way, regardless of whether or not they agree to it. Bubba noted that it was suits like Tom who were ruining radio, but Howard stuck up for Tom, acknowledging that he would fire anyone who made a move on an intern.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1279
__label__cc	0.744745	0.255255	Presbyterians celebrate the half-millenium of tradition that grounds their faith on Reformation Sunday. It is always the last Sunday in October, marking the occasion in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. For this year's October 28th Reformation Sunday celebration we've prepared four images to download from ... Reformation Sunday, Reformation, Immigration --by Kenneth J. Ross On March 7, 1516, Desiderius Erasmus (ca. 1469–1536)—Renaissance humanist, Catholic reformer, and Dutch educator—wrote to a friend with great relief from Basel, Switzerland, that the printing of his Greek New Testament was at last complete. It was, he later admitted, “more thrown together than edited,” but even so he had a right to be pleased. A decade of research and nearly a year of hard labor had produced the first printed edition of the New Testament in its original language. The foundational document of the Christian Church at... Reformation Sunday, Erasmus, Theology The leaders of the Reformation wanted to return to a faith and practice more consistent with the teachings of the Bible. Understanding God did not come from allegiance to a church, they argued, but through individual study of scripture. This led to a surge in production of new versions of the Bible. The Bibles produced during the Reformation were just as important as the individuals who led the movement. The Historical Society has the privilege of preserving some of the most important... Reformation Sunday, Collections, Martin Luther Three hundred years before the Protestant Reformation, and one hundred and fifty years before Jan Hus, there were the Waldensians, a group of European Believers whose radical theological tenets would later be adopted in many parts of Christendom. This year, the American Waldensian Society (AWS) celebrates its 110th anniversary. Founded in 1906 in New York City as the American Waldensian Aid Society, the society... Reformation Sunday, Immigration The Presbyterian Historical Society holds a treasure trove of stories you can read on paper, including pastor diaries, church minutes, and rare library books. Other stories lie hidden inside objects from our museum collection. In anticipation of this year’s Reformation Sunday, we’d like to tell you about one such object--a 400-year-old gavel with a history of ownership just as interesting as the materials it was made from. On January... Deana S Foundations of the Faith, Reformation Sunday, Collections, Immigration	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1282
__label__wiki	0.922744	0.922744	Print-on-Demand Exhibits Presbyterian History Topics of Note Home > History Online > Exhibits > John Knox: Scottish Reformer Page 8 Exhibit Navigation Foundations of the Faith, Page 1 Desiderius Erasmus: Humanist of Rotterdam , Page 2 Martin Luther: Founder of the German Reformation, Page 3 Ulrich Zwingli: Swiss Reformer, Page 4 Philipp Melanchthon: German Reformer, Page 5 John Calvin: French Theologian and Reformer, Page 6 Théodore de Bèze: French Calvinist Theologian, Page 7 John Knox: Scottish Reformer, Page 8 Portrait of John Knox by John Sartain, ca. 1842. Click for full image. [Image no. 2501] John Knox (ca. 1514-1572) was a leader of the Reforming party in his native Scotland. Knox studied with John Calvin in Geneva and took Calvin’s teachings back home with him to Scotland. The Presbyterian Church traces its ancestry back primarily to Knox in Scotland and to England, and so Knox is widely regarded as the founder of Presbyterianism. Educated in Glasgow and possibly at St. Andrews, Knox received minor orders, set up as a notary in Haddington, and then became a private tutor, c. 1544. Soon afterwards he embraced the principles of the Reformation. After being taken prisoner by the French during their attack on St. Andrews, he made his way from France to England, where he served briefly as chaplain to Edward VI. Shortly after Queen Mary Tudor's ascension to the throne in 1553, he fled to Geneva, where he met and was influenced by John Calvin. Eventually returning to Scotland in 1559, after more than a decade abroad, Knox became a minister in Edinburgh and, soon after, the acknowledged leader of the Reforming party in the Kirk. Knox preaching in old St. Giles Cathedral. Lithograph by Schenck and Ghémar, ca. 1850. Click for full image. [Image No. 4413] In close collaboration with his ministerial colleagues, Knox published three influential documents in the course of the next few years that were to be his principle contribution to the Reformation in Scotland—and to the religious and social history of his nation for the next century. He contributed to the writing of the Scots Confession (1560), a short evangelical consensus of Reformed doctrine and the principal theological standard of the Kirk until it was superseded by the Westminster Confession in 1647. He was the main author of the Book of Common Order (1556-64), based on prayer forms used by Knox in Geneva and widely used in Scottish worship until the adoption of the Westminster Directory of Public Worship in 1645. Knox's Book of Common Order, commonly called John Knox's Liturgy. Translated into Gaelic by John Carswell, 1567. Edited by Thomas McLauchlan, 1873. From Internet Archive via National Library of Scotland. Another of Knox’s most significant works is History of the Reformation of Religion within the Realms of Scotland. Originally issued in an unfinished edition in 1587, it was immediately seized and suppressed. The first complete edition appeared in 1644. 1644 edition of Knox's History of the Reformation of Religion within the Realms of Scotland. From Internet Archive via Princeton Theological Seminary Library. In the (first) Book of Discipline (1560), Knox and the Reformers worked out their concrete program of reform in both church and society. Knox’s goal was to create in Scotland nothing less than the “Godly Commonwealth” of ancient Israel. Had the education and charity provisions of the Book of Discipline been implemented as Knox wished, Scotland would have had the first program of systematic poor relief and universal compulsory primary education in Western Europe. Comprehensive, egalitarian, and practical—but hardly democratic—the Book is still recognized as a landmark of Christian social reform. It was said after his death that Knox was a man who neither feared nor flattered anyone alive. Scotland would have had a Reformation without him, but it was from him that it received much of its distinctive character and direction. American Presbyterians, as heirs of the church he helped to create, owe something of their character to his moral courage and social vision.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1284
__label__wiki	0.981876	0.981876	Moroccan movie industry going to the next level 4:00 AM PST 12/11/2007 by Charles Masters , AP When Nabil Ayouch's cross-cultural romantic comedy "Whatever Lola Wants" has its gala screening for the Arabian Nights section in Dubai, it will be one of the most prestigious international bows for a Moroccan director of late. "It's going to be a moment of great emotion, especially to present the film at an Arab festival," Ayouch said. Ayouch is emblematic of the dynamic new wave of Moroccan filmmakers. In addition to writing and directing, he has produced some 30 genre films in his homeland over the past three years. "Whatever Lola Wants" is about a Brooklyn postal worker (Laura Ramsey) who follows her lover to Cairo where she learns to belly dance from a legendary but disgraced instructor. The film was fully-financed from France through Pathe, and despite its settings, was mainly shot in Morocco, with Casablanca and Rabat doubling for the Egyptian capital. "Morocco is a very good environment in which to shoot," Ayouch says. An environment that has led to a blossoming of the local industry. "The good news is that production is doing well. We're making around 18 feature films a year now. For a small country, that's a lot. No other country in Africa except maybe Egypt makes as many films," says Nour-Eddine Sail, head of the Moroccan Cinema Center. To put this in context, Morocco was producing an average of four pictures a year a decade ago. Ayouch says the industry's good health is down to three main factors. Firstly, local audiences have learned to like their own production. "People used to think Moroccan cinema was a drag or too artsy. That's no longer the case," says Ayouch. Closely linked to this, the second reason for the upsurge in local fortunes is the arrival of a new wave of filmmakers including Ayouch and others such as Faouzi Bensaidi, Narjiss Nejjar and Laila Marrakchi. The third factor, undoubtedly, is the boost in state aid. "Ninety-nine% of Moroccan films are produced thanks to state aid, which is not to say they are entirely state funded," says Ayouch. The national film fund has risen incrementally in the past few years and is now around $7.5 million a year. The state-managed film fund is based on the French model. The money comes from a levy on TV network ad revenue, and is given to projects as an advance on receipts, meaning only some of it ever gets repaid. Acclaimed Moroccan helmer Ahmed el Maanouni, whose film "Burned Hearts" screens at DIFF, recently won the Grand Prix at the National Film Festival in Tangiers. He is upbeat about the state of his native film industry. "You can plainly see that Moroccan cinema has reached a nice cruising speed in terms of production. That shows there's a certain energy. There is also a variety of themes, not just one genre of film. Moroccan cinema is characterized by the richness of themes," says el Maanouni. "But there's a lot of work to do. The next step is for our films to gain greater presence, meaning wider distribution in Morocco and abroad," he added. For the meantime, Moroccan filmmakers can enjoy a hungry home market. "In terms of local popularity, Moroccan films are way out in front. The top four or five films have been Moroccan in the past few years," notes Sail. Despite the preference for local fare, this doesn't however translate to a dominant market share: Moroccan films only account for about a fifth of the market because of the limited number of titles. U.S. movies account for a good half the market, with Bollywood, Egyptian and European – led by French – making up the rest. Sail notes that Moroccan movies have enjoyed considerable success on the festival circuit, but the international market is opening only very slowly. Recently "L'Enfant Endormi" (The Sleeping Child) directed by Yasmine Kassari and "WWW: What a Wonderful World" by Bensaidi enjoyed modest success in France. "There've been some in-roads in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. It seems to help if there is a Moroccan community in the country, even though the films are not aimed at this population," he says. Sail says the Moroccan pavilion which has been part of the Cannes International Village in the past few years has worked well for his country's cinematic profile, and he's looking to expand his country's presence in international markets. "I'd like us to be present in Berlin in 2009, and also Toronto," he says. One thing all industry players agree on is that Morocco is in dire need of new movie theaters. There are only some 90 screens today in a country with a population of around 33 million. Total cinema admissions in Morocco came to nearly 3.9 million in 2006, and the average admission price is about $3.00. "We need theaters. The existing infrastructure is old and has not been renewed," Sail said. Two multiplexes have opened in recent years, a 15-screen complex in Casablanca, the largest city, and a 9-screen in Marrakech, but the current pace of renewal is not enough. To this end, Sail is pushing for the establishment of a public/private initiative to invest in multiplexes, with the aim of adding around 50 screens per year across major towns to bring the total to some 200. "I think too much aid is concentrated on production and not enough on distribution. One major drag on the industry is the state of distribution, which is undermined by piracy and the poor state of movie houses," says Ayouch. As a location for visiting shoots, Morocco continues to attract if not a flood, a steady stream of shoots ranging from European television miniseries such as TF1's "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" to major Hollywood fare like Tom Hanks starrer "Charlie Wilson's War" and the upcoming CIA Middle East thriller "Body of Lies" starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Russel Crowe. "Lies" marks the fourth time director Ridley Scott has shot in the kingdom in recent years. But the top-flight productions have not so far done much to boost the indigenous filmmaking craft, besides keeping the local studio facilities and service companies busy. "Until now there has been no transfer of know-how from visiting shoots. We're just starting to wake up to that," says Ayouch. To make up for this gap in technical training, Morocco has begun to spawn film schools, with one in Marrakech, which has just turned out its first graduates, and another in Ouarzazate, the film studio hub on the edge of the Sahara. For a Muslim kingdom with an authoritarian past, Morocco under King Mohammad VI – a known film fan – has adopted a surprisingly liberal attitude to cinematic subject matter. "There is almost total freedom. There are still some taboos, but I'd say that is more self-censorship than anything else," Ayouch says. El Maanouni concurs: "There is a freedom to tackle subjects which is sufficiently rare in the Arab world to be noteworthy. But we filmmakers also have to be more daring. I'm convinced of one thing: the more we show ourselves as we truly are, the more we are universal," he says. Charles Masters	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1286
__label__wiki	0.84344	0.84344	WB taps Gewecke as digital head 4:00 AM PST 12/13/2007 by Alex Woodson , AP Thomas Gewecke has been named president of digital distribution at Warner Bros. Gewecke will oversee the execution and development of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group's global digital initiatives, including wireless, online, VOD, pay-per-view and electronic sell-through. He will report to Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. Gewecke joins Warners from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, where he was executive vp global digital business. There, he helped develop the company's digital distribution model, took part in M&A activities and oversaw online advertising. Before that, Gewecke was senior vp business development in the digital services group at Sony Music Entertainment, where he founded and led the company's mobile business, which launched the first U.S. master ringtone offering in 2003. "Thomas is a forward-thinking executive with a proven track record of successful execution," Tsujihara said Wednesday. "He will provide innovative leadership to a great team." Alex Woodson	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1287
__label__wiki	0.54441	0.54441	Samsung To Invest $1.2 Bn In ‘Internet of Things’ Startups By Kirti Sharma Jun 29, 2016 Samsung Electronics, crowned as the World’s largest manufacturer of consumer electronics, is determined to bring Internet of Things( IoT) to scale and play its part in improving the way people live their lives on Earth. Showing its dedication towards this mission, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO, Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon, recently unveiled the company’s vision for ‘Human-Centered IoT.’ The vision charts out a strategy to invest a whopping $1.2 billion on United States based IoT R&D and investments over a period of four years. The initiative will be spearheaded by Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, Global Innovation Center and Samsung Research America, part of the company’s United States footprint of more than fifteen thousand dedicated employees across the country. The announcement about Samsung’s plan for the IoT sector was made by Vice Chairman Kwon in his address at the Samsung-hosted Internet of Things: Transforming the Future event in Washington, D.C. “I am excited to show how we are moving IoT to the center of our strategy and am delighted to announce that Samsung is planning to spend $1.2 Billion in U.S.-centered IoT investments and R&D over the next 4 years,” said Kwon in his speech. He further added, “At Samsung, putting people at the center of everything we do is our highest value. The same must be true for IoT if we want to realize its full transformative power. Today, IoT is changing individual lives – helping people to age in their own homes. But tomorrow, using IoT, we can give the same independence to millions of Americans. We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes. As our populations live longer, these benefits and cost savings for society cannot be ignored.” With this investment, Samsung has moved IoT to the center of its strategy, and committed on using connected devices for the collective good of the society. According to company sources, the company will use the money to focus its attention on IoT applications which have social benefits, such as autonomous vehicles, digital health and smart machines. This is not Samsung’s first foray into the IoT market. It was just last week that the company had acquired Joyent, a U.S. cloud firm, in order to strengthen its hold on its IoT-related software and services. In 2015, the company also unveiled Artik, which is a System on a Chip that connects objects and the computing power behind those objects. According to Kwon, in order for the IoT market to grow and flourish, there is a dire need for the policy makers to be as open and collaborative as possible, as according to him, sector-specific regulations could inherently fragment the development of the Internet of Things market. Hello Tax Gets Angel Funding, MySuperBrain Raises Funding from Soniks Consulting and FabHotels Bags $8M Online Aggregator For Outstation Travel, AHA Taxis Announces Major Expansion In India	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1289
__label__cc	0.598105	0.401895	Home \| Delhi \| Private 8 Days Golden Triangle Tour with Camel Safari in Jaisalmer Private 8 Days Golden Triangle Tour with Camel Safari in Jaisalmer Starting From USD 907 View Pricing Guide Duration 7 nights / 8 days Here is an exciting Golden Triangle tour package along with a thrilling camel safari in the majestic Thar Desert. Explore the heritage monuments located in Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Jaisalmer. Get to see the rich tradition and cultural heritage through Forts and Palaces of Jaipur and Jaisalmer, remarkable Mughal architectures like Taj Mahal, Agra Fort in Agra, ancient monuments like Qutub Minar, Red Fort in Delhi. Cover the most captivating destinations in India and get an unforgettable holiday experience. An enthralling eight-day trip to the Golden Triangle destinations- Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur followed by Golden City- Jaisalmer Embrace the architectural beauty of Taj Mahal and Agra Fort in Agra Explore Delhi and its major heritage monuments such as Red Fort, India Gate, Humayun’sTomb, Qutub Minar and Lotus Temple Set your heart racing with an exciting camel safari in Sam Sand Dunes in Jaisalmer Day 1: Delhi Arrival Our representative will meet you and you will be transferred to the hotel in Delhi. You can explore the nearby surroundings in free time. Relax overnight in the hotel in Delhi. Day 02: Delhi Sightseeing After breakfast, the sightseeing tour of Delhi will begin accompanied by your tour guide. Major tourist spots will be covered in Old and New Delhi and you will be driven past some major government buildings. Visit Red Fort, also called Lal Qila, it was constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and it was the royal residence of the Mughal emperors for a long time. Built out of red-sandstone walls, Red Fort is an important building in Old Delhi and also a place where Indian Prime Minister delivers the Independence Day speech. Next, Stop at Jama Masjid, one of the largest Mosques in India, famous for its red sandstone and white marble structure, a place where Muslims offer Namaz. Visit India Gate, located near Rashtrapati Bhavan, is a war memorial built in honor the soldiers who died during World War I. Explore Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest markets in Delhi famous for traditional Indian clothes and jewelry. Next, you will visit the Humayun’s Tomb, built in the memory of Mughal Emperor Humayun is a significant structure designed in a blend of Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural style. Stop at Lotus Temple, which is the last Bahai temple and made up of pure white marble in the shape of a lotus. Later, visit Qutub Minar, a tower with a height of 72.5m built with sandstone, built by Qutbu’d Din Aibak in 1199 AD. Later, return to the hotel for an overnight stay in Delhi. Day 3: Delhi - Agra by Road (200 kms / 4 hours) After breakfast, you will be driven towards Agra in an air-conditioned vehicle. On arrival in Agra, check in at the hotel. In the afternoon, leave for sightseeing tour of Agra. Visit Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum, constructed by around 20,000 artisans and a huge team of architects led by the main architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. It was built in the memory of the wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Next, visit the Agra Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty. Spend the evening exploring surrounding at leisure. Later return to the hotel for an overnight stay. Day 4: Agra – Jaipur by Road (240 kms / 4 hours) After the breakfast, you will be transferred to Jaipur in an air-conditioned vehicle. En route, we will stop at Fatehpur Sikhri. A fortified city built in the 16th century and shows a mix of Hindu and Muslim architecture and is a famous attraction. On arrival in Jaipur, check in at the hotel. You can explore nearby places in Jaipur and relax overnight in hotel. Day 5: Jaipur Sightseeing After breakfast, you will be taken to visit Amber Fort, located at 11 Kms from the city. Amer Fort is a beautiful palace built by Raja Man Singh and depicts a mix of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Enjoy the elephant ride to the main entrance of Amber Fort. In the afternoon, the city tour of Jaipur will begin. First stop at Hawa Mahal, one of the most famous tourist destinations built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. The building is in the shape of a crown and is 5 storey. Next, stop at the City Palace, built by Sawai Jai Singh in the mix of Rajput, Mughal and European architectural style. Later, visit Jantar Mantar, an astronomical observatory constructed by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Return to hotel for overnight stay. Day 6: Jaipur – Jaisalmer by Flight (approx. 2 hrs.) After the breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport in Jaipur to board a flight to Jaisalmer. On arrival in Jaisalmer, meet our representative at the airport and you will be transferred to the hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle. Spend rest of the day at leisure and enjoy an overnight stay at the hotel in Jaisalmer. Day 7: Jaisalmer Sightseeing After the breakfast, leave for a sightseeing tour of Jaisalmer. Visit Jaisalmer Fort, which is made up of sandstones and is located amidst sands of the Thar Desert. It is 250 feet tall and has 99 bastions, 92 out of which were built between 1633 and 1674. You will see that city’s one-fourth population still resides within the fort and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within the fort, visit the Jain Temples situated in the Jaisalmer Fort, which has a great architectural heritage. These Jain Temples were built in 12th and 15th centuries and you will find carvings of human and animal figures in Dilwara style. Next, explore the Havelis, first, visit Patwon Ki Haveli, now a museum, showcases various furniture, carvings, and artwork. It is a major tourist attraction and is a group of 5 havelis. It is the largest haveli in Jaisalmer and features many paintings and mirror works. Visit Salim Singh Ki Haveli, which has peculiar architecture and the room forms a peacock shape. It is located near the Jaisalmer fort and consists of 38 balconies with great designs.Stop at Nathmal Ji Ki Haveli; it has a magnificent architecture with elephant carvings on yellow stones and carved walls. The architecture of the haveli is a blend of Rajput architecture and Islamic art. In the afternoon, you will be taken to the Thar Desert for a camel safari in the sand dunes. Sam Sand Dunes is a great desert dune site with 30-60 m tall sand dunes. Enjoy the camel safari sitting back on a camelback and see the desert life of people. Return to the hotel in the evening and enjoy an overnight stay at the hotel in Jaisalmer. Day 8: Jaisalmer – Delhi by Flight (approx. 2 hours) After the breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport in Jaisalmer to board the scheduled flight to Delhi. On arrival in Delhi, you can continue your further travels. Note: In case if there are any infants traveling with you, there will be infant charges applicable in domestic flights which will be charged additionally. Accommodation with Breakfast at below mentioned / similar 4 star hotels - Delhi (2N): Regent Grand Agra (1N): Maple Grand Jaipur (2N): Whispering Palms Jaisalmer (2N): Fort Rajwada Daily Buffet Breakfast at each hotel Flight Tickets for Jaipur - Jaisalmer in Economy Class Flight Tickets for Jaisalmer - Delhi in Economy Class Land Transportation by Air conditioned private car English speaking tour guide during sightseeigng tours All transfers and sightseeing tours on private basis Entrance Tickets to All Monuments during the trip Elephant or Jeep Ride at Amber Fort in Jaipur Camel Safari at Sam/Khuri Sand Dunes in Jaisalmer Bottled mineral water during road journeys and city tours International Air Fare Meals other than specified Expense arising out of unexpected circumstances like natural calamities, flight cancellation or delay. Package price is subject to change in case of any air fare hike Supplement cost might be applicable during Fair or Festival dates and Xmas/New Year Period between 20 December to 10 January. In case if there are any infants traveling with you, there will be infant charges applicable in domestic flights which will be charged additionally. Taj Mahal remains closed on Friday, we are flexible to adjust the timing of sightseeing if your Taj Mahal Tour is falling on Friday. 8 Days Private Golden Triangle Tour with Havelis of Mandawa 8 Days Private Golden Triangle Tour with Jodhpur and Udaipur	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1290
__label__cc	0.723517	0.276483	Perspective Menu Steady-State Economy Energy / Climate Change Biodiversity / Food / Water Policy / Systems / Technology Corporate / CSR Reduce / Reuse / Recycle Transportation / Mobility Eco-business / Social Venture ProjectsPast and current JFS projects Sustainability College Partnership Practice between Businesses and NGOs Copyright JFS Lecturer: Kuniko Kamiyama, Program Officer, an NPO, Civil Society Initiative Fund Lecturer: Koichi Kaneda, CSR Senior Director, Corporate Communications Department, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Bridging Cultural Differences Kaneda: Currently I work at the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Department of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and engaged in CSR operations at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. before. Daiwa Securities has products of very high sociality including the Daiwa SRI Fund and the Daiwa Eco Fund. The company believed that it had to promote corporate citizenship movement suitable for a company that sells these products. In fact, this Daiwa JFS Sustainability College is also supported by the Daiwa Eco Fund. Today's theme is the Daiwa SRI Fund Financial Assistance Program supported by the Daiwa SRI Fund. Ms. Kamiyama who is from the Civil Society Initiative Fund works with me to operate this program. We would like to talk about the partnership practice between businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a dialogue style. Kamiyama: The Civil Society Initiative Fund mainly operates grant programs, receiving donations from businesses and individual donors and providing financial support to NGO activities. The feature of our activity is our role in connecting businesses with NGOs in fields. It is important for both businesses and NGOs to supplement each other's strengths and weaknesses to solve social problems, but it is in a way difficult for them to build a direct partnership. Businesses and NGOs have different principles of behavior to begin with. It may sound somewhat misleading, but businesses pursue profits and NGOs place more emphasis on support activities for immediate issues than a prospect of profit. Furthermore, the operation scale and sense of speed are totally different. Businesses are often very quick to do their job, but NGOs tend to fall behind businesses due to limited human and material resources. So to speak, we mediate the cross-cultural communication between these two groups with very different cultures. We solicit the will of businesses and individual donors in the form of money, and do our activities always thinking about the most effective way to distribute the money to selected organizations. We try to be an expert on social issues by questioning ourselves "What is needed in the society?", "Where are the issues?" and "Who are the key persons?" through daily information gathering and communication and network with many people. Kaneda: An organization such as the Civil Society Initiative Fund is called "intermediary." Businesses are often unaware of NGOs that are doing wonderful activities in various fields. It is also not clear to them which NGOs should be supported for appropriate flow of funding and real results. Then an intermediary supporting professional will be needed. The Civil Society Initiative Fund can create programs with appropriate help of external experts who have experiences and wisdoms in addition to their staff members. These programs have the involvement of many stakeholders including the Daiwa Securities as a donor, the Civil Society Initiative Fund as an intermediary supporting NPO, NGOs that are doing wonderful activities in their fields and those who receive their services. Kamiyama: Grant is a kind of "donation" system, but the two are different in a precise sense. Normal donation is often provided from one company to a certain organization in one-to-one manner. On the other hand, the grant program is one-to-many relationship, often providing fund to multiple parties simultaneously on a certain theme. In this case, the fund is not simply "given" to organizations such as NGOs based on their past activities for free use. Instead, the fund is given to NGOs as an opportunity for activities with an expectation of outcome based on planning and reflection of donor's opinion. Unlike some one-off donations, our grant often continues on a year to year basis for a long time. I think approximately five years is a border for a grant program to increase its recognition and generate certain results. We would like businesses to commit for this period of time. In addition, we think this time frame is appropriate for reviewing program as a whole since society is changing drastically and social background and problem consciousness at the time of program launch may not be the same after some years. I think social impacts are hard to recognize and they actually appear gradually. Some grant programs are found to be successful suddenly one day. I sometimes learn about the recipient NGO's activity on newspaper, for example, after many years from the end of grant period. It is one of the best moments for me to think how wonderful it was to be able to support them in the past. How Grant Should be to Value People Kamiyama: Now let me give you concrete examples about the form of partnership, using a case of the Daiwa SRI Fund Financial Assistance Program operated with Daiwa Securities. Each has its own role. Daiwa Securities provides fund and the Civil Society Initiative Fund plans and manages programs with the fund provided. Planning and management include making grant programs, taking charge of the selection process of the grant recipients, providing follow-ups to the recipient organizations from the start until the end of the program, and finally submitting activity reports to Daiwa Securities. The focus of this program is training NGO staff and organization. Generally, NGOs have weak foundation and the staff is often at a stage of maximizing their expertise in the future. The number of businesses that provide financial support to human resource development, however, is very small, because nurturing human resources takes time. Also, it is difficult to measure the results because we can't simply say things like, the staff "grew by 1.5 times." Still yet, Daiwa Securities understands the importance of nurturing staff and organization and provides support, probably because the company puts emphasis on people. I also think it was extremely wise for the company to set the target area as human security. Businesses provide more support to activities for children and the environment, but I don't think many do in this area. Human security is a concept that has been advocated by the United Nations for about 10 years. As the globalization proceeds, people move across the national borders and domestic conflicts occur. Not only traditional international security, we need to tackle protection of life (existence, living and dignity) and independence support of individuals. In Japan, more and more people are facing difficult situation due to recent economical situation. We had a problem consciousness that we call for safety-net of people nearby. We set the grant period one year and the upper limit of the grant money at two million yen (about US$24,700). Every year, we supported five or six organizations, contributing to nurturing 33 staff members of 15 organizations up to now. I would like to introduce a case of individual funding. There is an NGO called Center for Multicultural Society Kyoto that provides medical support to foreigners living in Japan through its project of dispatching medical interpreters and that organizes cultural exchanges. Many foreign nationals who can't speak Japanese don't like to go to see a doctor when they are sick due to a language barrier. Even if they go, they often can't explain the symptom very well and receive proper treatment. Center for Multicultural Society Kyoto developed the Computer-Mediated Multilingual Medical Communication Support System, known as "M3", with Wakayama University. Visitors to a hospital can use this touch-panel type unit to find an appropriate department, and learn about appropriate reception and payment procedure by answering questions shown in multiple languages. The grant program supported this project for two years from 2007 to 2008. With the grant, the organization officially employed a volunteer worker who was involved with the system development as a full-time staff. He played an important role as a member of collaborative project among industry, government, academia and private. When I went to see him the other day, I was very glad to learn that he had become a distinguished mid-level staff. We have been supporting other programs collaborating with many businesses. We managed to support a total of 736 projects that amounts to 869.2 million yen (about US$1,073 million) as of September 2010 since 2001. Aiming at Solving Issues Hidden Below Surface Kaneda: I would like to talk from the viewpoint of businesses. When I conduct these programs, I always keep "MRI" in mind. M stands for "Mission," R for "Response and Responsibility," and I for "Interest." "Mission" needs to be examined to know how the program can contribute to society through its product, the reason for the program, and the program itself. Businesses are required to clearly understand social issues and needs and have a point of view to examine if the program is suitable for them. That is "Response and Responsibility." Furthermore, it is necessary for businesses to think what merits the contribution will bring to themselves. Without this, the activity can not be continued. In the program with the Civil Society Initiative Fund, the organization reports about the activity in the form of fulfilling accountability, which enables the businesses to disclose information to a wide range of stakeholders through their CSR reports or business reporting to shareholders. If we properly response to social issues and needs, the businesses can gain merits for instance in the form of reputation. This is "Interest." It is ideal to carry on the program in a manner the balance among M, R and I is good. For that reason, businesses are required to create concrete results against social problems by combining their various resources including people, products or services, capital, know-how and network. I would like to talk about Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. I belong to now. In fact, Takeda also works with the Civil Society Initiative Fund on the Takeda Well-Being Program to provide support to children undergoing long-term treatment for diseases. There are some support systems for adult patients, but many problems remain for children. The issue is socially important, but hardly visible. Many people don't know what to do in this field. For example, when parents concentrate their attention to their sick child, naturally other children will receive less care, which gives great impacts on their growing environment and mental condition. If the sick child is in a hospital, family can't always stay overnight at the hospital, and they often have to stay in their cars parked at hospital parking. Of course, another important issue is how to provide fun time to children who are undergoing tough treatment. Takeda's program provides support to organizations that tackle these issues in the form of "planned funding." The company examines the types of organization and support for the most effective way to problem solving, and selects recipient organizations with experts. This process is different from public recruiting. Kamiyama: I didn't know that many children are staying at hospital for a long time until I got involved with this program. Another issue is that the children who are at a growing stage required to learn about society will need support to go back to a society after they are released from hospital. Kaneda: Through an intermediary like the Civil Society Initiative Fund, I think it is important for businesses to learn from NGOs that have hands-on experiences about social issues we are not aware of so much and to tackle these issues. This is why the partnership with NGOs has a great value for businesses. Kuniko Kamiyama (Program Officer, an NPO, Civil Society Initiative Fund) After graduating from university, she worked at private companies including bank and architectural firm. In 2002, she joined Civil Society Initiative Fund. She was in charge of establishing and managing funding program that connects funding from businesses and donors with NPOs. Since then, she launched three funding programs and managed five programs including the Daiwa SRI Fund program as a social contribution based on partnership with business. Koichi Kaneda (CSR Senior Director, Corporate Communications Department, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.) He was in charge of trading policy toward Europe at the Foreign Relations Department of Sony Corporation, and relaxation of regulations toward Japan at Economy Department of Embassy of the United States in Japan. When he was studying in the United Kingdom, he started to have interest in human development by multi-national corporation. After he returned to Japan, he studied development theory at institutions including Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development. He worked as an announcer for Bloomberg Television, and was involved with establishing CSR at three companies: Sony Corporation (re-entry), Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Back to Sustainability College JFS "Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs) "FutureCity" Initiative Local Well-being Other Language (Francais) Inspired by Nature / Biomimicry JFS Indicators Youth Action JFS Newsletter Back Issues Search JFS About Japan for Sustainability (JFS) Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License. {%date%} {%title%} {%summary%} {%#rightBlock%} {%/rightBlock%}	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1291
__label__wiki	0.925797	0.925797	Commentary / World Ali forced people to take sides, and I took his by Stephen L. Carter Online: Jun 06, 2016 Last Modified: Jun 06, 2016 NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - In March of 1971, when Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century, I was in high school in Ithaca, New York. At that time Ithaca was a sleepy Republican town. But Ali woke things up. People who had no interest in sports were taking sides. Perhaps unfairly, Frazier had become the candidate of conservatives, the boxer who proudly carried the American flag, the man who would teach some manners to the mouthy antiwar upstart who had changed his name and (they muttered) should have been in prison. His supporters were eclectic. The students at Ithaca High were split. The hippies in their Earth shoes, the rebels, the greasers in their boots, the math nerds supported Ali. Everybody else was pulling for Frazier. That’s what Ali did. He forced you to take sides. Muhammad Ali, who died on June 3 at the age of 74, was not only the dominant boxer of his generation. He was the transcendent sports figure of the 20th century, a lightning rod for controversy who became a beloved ambassador for peace, and whose tragic final years have probably hastened the end of the sport at which he excelled. There is an iconic photograph in which Ali stands angry and triumphant over a defeated Sonny Liston — an image so famous that it has been featured in both “Mad Men” and “NCIS.” My own favorite, however, is from a Life magazine profile in 1963. Ali, at that time still Cassius Clay and not yet the champion or even famous, has his back to the camera as three members of the Sisters of St. Joseph grin ear to ear. The caption tells us that they called him “Champ.” It’s as if they knew. We black Baby Boomers grew up with him. His early success astonished sportswriters. His big mouth and shameless self-promotion made them angry. He made audacious predictions. Borrowing from Little Richard, the young fighter kept calling himself “the greatest.” His detractors adopted, derisively, his self-invented moniker, “Louisville Lip.” Once the public became aware of him, it was possible only to love him or hate him. Experts kept waiting for some better talent to put him in his place. When he dethroned the invincible Liston, the only explanation an astonished boxing public could come up with was that the fight had been fixed. When Ali won the rematch, the same accusations surfaced. But the truth was different: Ali simply was that good. There’s a tendency nowadays to remember Ali as the fighter who would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” We think of him as above the usual run of brawlers. But he wasn’t just a jabber. He could dish out punishment. Sportswriters labeled his 1967 demolition of Ernie Terrell “almost bestial” and “an exercise in brutality.” He became a lightning rod for a divided nation when he converted to Islam and then refused draft induction. Around this time, Gen. Lewis Hershey, head of the Selective Service, happened to be on the campus of Howard University to give a lecture. He was heckled by students who shouted, “America is the black man’s battleground.” When Ali showed up at the Houston induction center, the well-known militant H. Rap Brown was there waiting. The two exchanged black power salutes. College students, mostly black, were there to support him. Ali was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his heavyweight title. When the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, the head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars was outraged: “This is certain to have a demoralizing effect on our American men in uniform.” Angry politicians weighed in. Ali responded by building a six-foot wall [198 cm] topped with iron bars around his home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It’s difficult to explain what he symbolized for African America. A 1971 New York Times op-ed by a Cornell student probably put it best: “Ali’s victories were never mere physical triumphs, but instead siphoned off inner explosions, uncertainties, hatreds and failures.” At this time the civil rights movement was seeing defeats everywhere. Leaders were being killed, activists who chose the radical alternative were being arrested, and protesters in the North resisted integration of schools and neighborhoods. But in and out of the boxing ring, a black man who refused to back down was piling up victories. Of course we loved him. We were charmed by him too. Although history will see Ali, correctly, as a symbol of resistance, it’s easy to forget that he was also a great traditionalist. He told an Ebony magazine interviewer in 1971 that as a Muslim he refused to do “women’s work” — cooking and washing for instance — but that he would willingly do the male chores around the house. It was the sort of thing that even then no other public figure could say without causing outrage. Which brings us back to the Frazier fight, the first-ever meeting of two undefeated champions. Frazier won a unanimous decision. Oh, but we were stunned! Fortunately the icon stayed on his pedestal. Ali was rusty, we told ourselves: those three years of enforced inactivity because of his draft case. There were two rematches, and Ali won them both. In 1974 there was the “Rumble in the Jungle” — his battle in Zaire with the seemingly invincible George Foreman. I have written before in this space about how those of us who loved Ali actually feared for his life. Norman Mailer, in his book about the fight, wrote that he had never before seen his hero frightened. “It must be dark when you get knocked out,” Ali said just before entering the ring. But again he shocked the world, knocking out his unbeatable opponent. Alas, all those shots over the years — all that brawling and brutality — had its effect. Seeing what Parkinson’s Disease had done to the brilliant magician of the ring sobered us. Ali never hid from his public, and his decline was painful to watch. In 1996, he appeared on television screens worldwide as he lit the flame to open the Atlanta Olympics. His shuffling, trembling gait did more than a hundred op-ed pieces by medical researchers to spur the rapid turn against boxing. Nowadays everybody knows the toll the brutal sport takes on the human brain. For that broad understanding, tragically, we have Ali to thank. “That’s a bad feeling,” he told Mailer, “waiting for night to choke up on you.” Yet in that waiting it is possible to stand undaunted. And for that image, too, we can thank the greatest fighter who ever lived. Bloomberg View columnist Stephen L. Carter is law professor at Yale University and the author of 12 books. LATEST COMMENTARY STORIES Japan's 'trilemma' in the Strait of Hormuz The United States has raised with its allies, including Japan, the possibility of forming a coalition of the willing to protect commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb (at t... The word "migration" conjures images of war, natural disaster and severe economic distress. All are important reasons why people seek refuge far from home. But the single most powerful driver of... A vision for protecting the world's oceans The two-day Group of 20 Osaka summit concluded June 29 with a leader's declaration that included two important issues relating to oceans: the G20's Osaka Blue Ocean Vision to tackle marine plast... Islam, boxing, Muhammed Ali	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1292
__label__wiki	0.921049	0.921049	Clerical abuse of children “source of pain and shame” for me, says Pope Francis Pope Francis in Ireland.Rollingnews.ie Pope Francis has apologized profusely for the sex abuse scandal and the treatment of the Magdalene women in remarks at Dublin Castle. “With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” Francis, who spoke in Italian, told an audience that included Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. “The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share these sentiments.” Read More: Pope Francis in Ireland hears strong criticism on church child abuse from Irish president and prime minister Francis referred to remarks of former Pope Benedict in a letter to Irish Catholics stating that he “spared no words in recognizing both the gravity of the situation” and in demanding that “truly evangelical, just and effective” measures be taken in response “to this betrayal of trust.” “His frank and decisive intervention continues to serve as an incentive for the efforts of the Church’s leadership both to remedy past mistakes and to adopt stringent norms meant to ensure that they do not happen again,” said Pope Francis. Protestors hold a sign outside Dublin Castle as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis during the first day of his visit to Ireland. Credit: RollingNews.ie “Each child is in fact a precious gift of God, to be cherished, encouraged to develop his or her gifts, and guided to spiritual maturity and human flourishing.” While recognizing the Church’s failures in the clerical abuse scandal, the Pope noted too that the Church had “past and present, played a role in promoting the welfare of children that cannot be obscured.” “It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of many, will serve to emphasize the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole,” he said. “In this regard, all of us are aware of how urgent it is to provide our young people with wise guidance and sound values in their journey to maturity.” Three months after Ireland voted to legalize abortion, Pope Francis attacked the pro-abortion forces and condemned “a materialistic ‘throwaway culture’” saying it had made people “increasingly indifferent to the poor and to the most defenseless members of our human family, including the unborn, deprived of the very right to life.” Pope Francis signing the guest book at Dublin Castle. Credit: RollingNews.ie Pope Francis spoke about the triumph of the peace process. “The Irish Government, in union with the political, religious and civil leaders of Northern Ireland and the British government, and with the support of other world leaders, created a dynamic context for the peaceful settlement of a conflict that caused untold pain on both sides,” he said at Dublin Castle. “We can give thanks for the two decades of peace that followed this historic agreement, while expressing firm hope that the peace process will overcome every remaining obstacle and help give birth to a future of harmony, reconciliation and mutual trust.” Read More: A tale of two popes: Recalling John Paul in Ireland as Francis visits Francis spoke about the importance of recovering “the sense of being a true family of peoples” in every instance of political and social life, referencing the Irish peace process. US Senator George Mitchell, chairman of the peace talks, was present. The pope urged the Irish “never to lose hope or the courage to persevere in the moral imperative to be peacemakers, reconcilers and guardians of one another.” “Here in Ireland, this challenge has a special resonance, in light of the long conflict that separated brothers and sisters of a single family,” he said. Related: Catholic	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1295
__label__cc	0.56307	0.43693	Why North Korea wants nuclear weapons Page 2 of 4 First 1 2 3 4 Last syphax Re: Why North Korea wants nuclear weapons Silk roads is truly the end of anglo-American dominance Look like I need to start learning Chinese Junon Another update, the situation is getting worse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_cVub8823k&t=205s Originally Posted by syphax No the Chinese keep to themselves, they are not interested in global conquest like the West. This is an unusual interpretation of whats going on. North Korea’s strategy is to ease out of China’s patronage Pyongyang aims to monetise its nuclear threat to seek engagement with US Since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, the perception of risk surrounding North Korea has risen to levels not seen for over a decade. At present, significant progress in Kim Jong Un’s quest to develop nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the continental US — coupled with a relatively unorthodox US administration — is threatening to significantly alter the Korean peninsula’s geopolitical equilibrium. Yet rather than acting recklessly, North Korea is in the midst of executing a three-stage road map to achieve its ultimate objective of gaining political capital and financial leverage by monetising its nuclear capabilities. Underpinning this plan is an under-appreciated factor lying outside of the geopolitical sphere: the growing strength of North Korea’s local economy. The first stage of Mr Kim’s plan involves the development of nuclear weapons followed by a distancing from China. Since the Korean war armistice was signed in 1953, China has been the de facto caretaker of North Korea, safeguarding a finely balanced peace on the Korean peninsula. What is underestimated about this relationship is its degree of lopsidedness: China’s role as guardian provides the country with major political leverage without fundamentally benefiting North Korea. While China’s economy has seen unprecedented growth from its embrace of free trade and financial market liberalisation, North Korea remains a hermit kingdom mired in poverty. Under-appreciated in the west is the growing dissatisfaction among North Korea’s power brokers with the current situation. Indeed, after decades of languishing in China’s shadow, North Korea has grown increasingly aware that the political and economic dividends from its ally’s patronage have been withering. Against this backdrop, escaping from China’s shadow will be imperative for Mr Kim’s regime. After all, if the world believes that China has firm control over its neighbour, Mr Kim and his generals have no leverage. While the ongoing distancing of North Korea from China may cause economic damage in the short term, it is a prerequisite for the acquisition of bargaining power on the global stage. The machinations and savvy of North Korea have consistently been undervalued. Currently, North Korea is moving towards stage two of its strategy: forcing its way into bilateral talks by escalating tensions with the US. Ultimately, Mr Kim wants to reach a settlement granting North Korea recognition as a legitimate nuclear nation, as well as unlimited economic upside from the lifting of sanctions. In other words, North Korea is seeking engagement with and recognition from the US. So far, economic sanctions have proved toothless against a regime that shows little regard for the wellbeing of its people. In fact, in the face of the international community’s efforts to isolate North Korea, there are signs pointing to on-the-ground, market-driven progress. Mr Kim is establishing strong support via economic reforms centred on building up the middle class. Specifically, the North Korean regime has been allowing its citizens to engage in basic trading and commerce activities since 2011 when Mr Kim first took power. Anecdotal evidence points to an emerging consumer class benefiting from the trading of goods made from Chinese raw materials, contributing to an economic vibrancy not seen for decades. North Korea may be making strides in productivity and income growth reminiscent of China in the 1990s. In August, the US and Japan proposed oil sanctions on Mr Kim’s region for the first time. Oil is critical to North Korea’s military operations and winter heating. In recent years, China has reluctantly agreed to UN sanctions on North Korea but has insisted on supplying energy to its neighbour, knowing full well that cutting off oil supply could fatally sever the two countries’ already tenuous alliance. Therefore, China’s ultimate decision on oil sanctions will be a critical turning point for the escalation of North Korea risk for financial markets. From a geopolitical perspective, the perception of North Korea risk remains elevated. Financial markets, however, are largely indifferent to the sabre-rattling, which may raise the stakes even more. As disputes escalate, so too will North Korea’s bargaining power and therefore the price of its demands. From 2018, investors should look out for the transition point between stages two and three of Mr Kim’s grand plan, which is monetisation and resolution. North Korea’s optimal point of bargaining power will take place when it perfects the technology to fire a nuclear-armed ICBM to the US west coast. Until then, Mr Kim will continue to play a game of seemingly inconsistent sabre-rattling that will buy time for him and his missile programme. All in all, given that north-east Asia generates $17.5tn in GDP, or 23.5 per cent of the global total, it is unlikely that the relevant parties will risk a war or even a major military conflict. In addition, a broad-based desire to contain the threat of nuclear technology sales to terrorist organisations is perhaps a greater reason for preventing a miscalculation by key parties. As such, looking past dramatic news flows, there is an urgent need for the US and UN to accept the reality of North Korea as a permanent nuclear power. In order for that to materialise, a greater appreciation for North Korea’s strategy and its long-term goals is advised for western leaders and investors. https://www.ft.com/content/dd9f1eaa-e57c-11e7-97e2-916d4fbac0da Oh no not THIS again. George Galloway oblierates a warmongering caller who wants NORTH KOREA NUKED! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD3a5jJE-xo The situation is getting worse and worse. Might as well call it a economic blockade. Prelude to war? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSH3ljA53j0 The North Korean leader is a complete psychopath with a deficient education and a delusional worldview. A guy like that with ICBMs is terrifying. It is in China's best interests to order him to dismantle his nuclear program and try to normalize relations with the western world (it isn't just the US--many other nations have repeatedly condemned NK). Otherwise, Kim is going to sink an American warship and his capital will be reduced to rubble. A million North Koreans will flee across the border to China, causing a refugee and economic crisis. DanEdge The situation with North Korea has concerned me more and more this past year. It is a looming humanitarian crisis the likes of which the world hasn't seen in a long time. What is worse, I don't see how we're going to get out of this peacefully. Inflammatory rhetoric aside, NK and US have a seemingly unresolvable conflict. We (US citizens) are just not going to be OK with NK having nuke capability to hit our populations centers on the west coast. The public won't accept it, Congress won't accept it, the President won't accept it. We'll do anything to prevent it. Right or wrong, this is the state of the American mind. For their part, North Korea will never give up its nuclear ambitions. It's their only path to international relevance, and Kim's only sure way to stay in power. If it comes to war, I don't see any good options. US could defeat NK and depose Kim very quickly, but at what cost? Our own military losses would be minimal, but South Korea could face casualty numbers in the tens of thousands. The only way to mitigate this is to impose even higher casualities and destruction on NK at the outset of hostilities. Given that we will want peace with NK very quickly, and NK and SK could be looking at reunification, it is a horrible situation if either side sustatins heavy damage. The only possible solution I see is the one mentioned earlier in this thread. Since US will not accept NK nuclearization, we should be willing to negotiate the cessation of joint SK/US military exercises, at least for the short term. I'm hoping China will save us all from ourselves here. China stands to lose a lot in terms of security (who would want US military on their doorstep?) and having to deal with the massive humanitarian crisis that war would cause. I'm hoping that 2018 will bring cooler attitudes to both countries, and a way out will present itself. --Dan Edge Originally Posted by Silas Wouldn't it be best if the USA leads by example and totally disarms itself of these horrible nuclear weapons. Otherwise it is total hypocrisy. As far as I'm concerned, every sovereign state, has every right to process any weapons it deems necessary to defend itself. At the end of the day North Korea is politically allied with China and they are the same peoples with ancient connections. So from the Western point of view they are considered the "yellow peril" and an enemy of the West. Where as China and North Koreans realizes the West is nothing more than a Zionist occupied rabid imperialist barbaric alliance of war pigs. fromelsewhere I think that in reality, Kim Jong Un is terrified that his people turn against him since they live in dirt-poor conditions. To justify his stupid dictatorship to his people who would otherwise be furious to see how SK is thriving while NK is a humanitarian disaster, he has to create an artificial conflict with a powerful country. The US makes for a great scapegoat given that it is a far away nuclear power that is really not that interested in getting involved in a conflict at the other end of the world, unless it really has to. Kim provokes the US just enough for the US leaders (not all bright lights..duh) to in turn threaten NK back so that Kim can then justify to his people the spending of countless resources to build up the military that can then help keep Kim in power. To me it seems like the only right way for this conflict to be solved is for the people in North Korea to wake up and overturn the system. Unfortunately, this is not easy to do as North Koreans are hostages to their government. They are only taught in school what the government wants them to be taught. They then are obligated to go into the military or work in government-owned farms/factories. All the news they received has been heavily censured. So I imagine that many North Koreans, especially of the younger generations, have little to no idea of what goes on beyond the borders of North Korea. It's an Orwellian 1984-like situation. Edit: the other way out I see is that Kim grows a brain and heart and gradually dismantles his dictatorship by himself without being forced into it... just like how Gorbachev dismantled the USSR. Zafran I cant see how China is going to allow NK to attack anything - I cant see China letting the US come so close to its Border. Recipe for ww3. Originally Posted by DanEdge The only possible solution I see is the one mentioned earlier in this thread. Since US will not accept NK nuclearization, we should be willing to negotiate the cessation of joint SK/US military exercises, at least for the short term. I'm hoping China will save us all from ourselves here. China stands to lose a lot in terms of security (who would want US military on their doorstep?) and having to deal with the massive humanitarian crisis that war would cause I must say that I'm skeptical that ceasing the joint SK/US military exercises would produce any results. I think that the whole purpose of Kim Jong Un's government to develop nukes and threaten the US is in reality to distract his people from the pressing humanitarian crisis looming in NK. China seems to be quite indifferent to the whole conflict. In fact, they probably find it quite amusing to see Trump and Kim trade barbs. They count on Kim and Trump to not be stupid enough to actually press the button. Another update ‘Shrewd & mature N. Korean leader has won this round' – Putin on peninsula crisis North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has emerged a winner in the latest crisis around the Korean Peninsula, Russian president Vladimir Putin said. He believes Pyongyang is now trying to defuse tensions. “I believe, Mr Kim Jong-un has certainly won this round,” Putin told journalists at a meeting with the Russian media. He said North Korea has achieved its strategic goal. “He has a nuclear [charge] and a … missile with a range of up to 13,000 kilometers that can reach almost any place on Earth or at least any territory of his potential adversary,” Putin told journalists on Thursday. The Russian president said the North Korean leader is likely to be seeking an easing of tensions in the region. “He is already an absolutely shrewd and mature politician,” Putin added. The latest crisis around the Korean Peninsula broke out in September 2017 after Pyongyang claimed it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The US responded to North Korean actions by flexing its muscles and conducting a number of military drills in the region with its allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea replied to this saber-rattling by conducting several missile tests, including one, according to Pyongyang, involving an intercontinental ballistic missile. Both Pyongyang and Washington, along with its allies, added further fuel to the fire by issuing repeated threats against one another. US President Donald Trump repeatedly said the US could use a “military option” in dealing with the crisis and even threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” during the annual General Debate of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. More recently Trump said in a Twitter post that his “nuclear button” is “bigger and more powerful.” Russia and China, by contrast, have called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis from from the outset. Moscow and Beijing put forward a “double freeze” initiative that envisaged the US and its allies halting all major military exercises in the region in exchange for Pyongyang suspending its nuclear and ballistic missile program. The initiative was, however, turned down by Washington. Russia also repeatedly called on all parties involved in the Korean crisis to “break the vicious cycle of confrontation, reckless schemes and sanctions” and engage into a meaningful dialog instead. In December, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said North Korea wants to engage in a direct dialog with the US to assure its security, adding that Russia could help with these talks. In January, Pyongyang and Seoul agreed to hold high-level bilateral talks to discuss the North’s potential participation in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, as well as other issues related to improving relations. The move followed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year message, in which he wished success for the 2018 Olympics. During the talks held on January 9, the two sides agreed on the participation of North Korean athletes in the South Korean Olympics. They also discussed the potential reunification of families separated by the Korean War. In a significant breakthrough, the two Koreas agreed on talks between army officials in order to avoid dangerous military incidents. Pyongyang’s chief negotiator, however said there was no need to discuss the North Korean nuclear program because all its weapons “are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, nor China and Russia.” Trump meanwhile has claimed it was his aggressive stance that made the negotiations between two Koreas possible. https://www.rt.com/news/415628-putin-says-shrewd-korean-leader-won/ JustTime https://www.islamicboard.com/images/...14380124-1.jpg وَلَقَدْ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ "If you join others in worship with Allah, then surely all your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers." (39:65) Futuwwa Originally Posted by fromelsewhere In the real world, the USA has flat-out refused any kind of diplomatic rapproachment with North Korea. Clinton did an attempt during his presidency and it was mostly going fine, but then came Bush and declared North Korea to be part of the Axis of Evil. North Korean militarization is a rational response to a world in which toothless regimes that the USA doesn't like tend to get regime-changed. Originally Posted by Futuwwa "In the real world" a Muslim would never tolerate a Mushrik having so much as a stone and the fact the US wants to wipe out these Mushriks that stand side-by-side with Assad, Iran, and Russia should be welcomed by the Ummah and praised as when the Persians and Byzantines would clash. Another update. Again another unusual interpretation of whats going on, or maybe he's trying to be humorous. A tuneful cry for help from Kim's favourite girl band Having visited North Korea, and found it crumbling, militarily decrepit and kept going mainly by copious quantities of fiery rice spirit, I have decided that all its actions are really a shout for help, hoping to be rescued from China by the USA. Plans by Kim Jong Un to deploy his hand-picked Moranbong Band in South Korea, on a new charm offensive, suggest that the hermit state’s leader is more humorous and diplomatic than we may have guessed. The band look rather like Pyongyang’s hypnotically lovely female traffic police, who conduct the capital’s sparse traffic with graceful gestures, day and night – another example of how North Korea isn’t quite what we think it is, and may in fact be something else altogether. http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/ SOROS: The US 'is set on a course toward nuclear war' with North Korea George Soros on Thursday said the Trump administration's refusal to accept North Korea's nuclear capabilities was putting the countries on a path toward nuclear war. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Soros said that for the US to avoid nuclear war, President Donald Trump and other leaders should accept North Korea as a nuclear power. "The threat of nuclear war is so horrendous that we are inclined to ignore it, but it is real," Soros said, according to a text of his prepared remarks. "Indeed, the United States is set on a course toward nuclear war by refusing to accept that North Korea has become a nuclear power." Soros, a longtime Democratic megadonor and hedge fund manager, said the US's concerns about North Korea's nuclear capability was cultivating a vicious circle that was pushing the two countries toward conflict. "This creates a strong incentive for North Korea to develop its nuclear capacity with all possible speed, which in turn may induce the United States to use its nuclear superiority preemptively — in effect, to start a nuclear war in order to prevent nuclear war, an obviously self-contradictory strategy," he said. The only solution, Soros said, is for the US to recognize North Korea as a nuclear power and align with China, Japan, and South Korea to establish an agreement to prevent a war. In addition to the threat of nuclear war, Soros expressed concerns about the Trump administration and the populist sentiments the president espouses. "Clearly, I consider the Trump administration a danger to the world, but I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020 or even sooner," Soros said. "I give President Trump credit for motivating his core supporters brilliantly — but for every core supporter, he has created a greater number of core opponents who are equally strongly motivated. That is why I expect a Democratic landslide in 2018." Soros compared Trump's moves in the US to Vladimir Putin's in Russia. "I find the current moment in history rather painful," he said. "Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of dictatorships and mafia states, exemplified by Putin's Russia, are on the rise." http://uk.businessinsider.com/george-soros-davos-speech-trump-north-korea-nuclear-war-2018-1?r=US&IR=T Originally Posted by JustTime You must be kidding with us. America is the most harming country in The World to Muslims. Most of it’s profit comes from the clashes resulting the persecution of muslims. NK is rather a harmless country at the moment for Muslims and a harmles mushrik is better than a harming christian The reason why Muslims supported the Byzantines was because the mushriks were supporting the Sasanids. Apart from that Muslims never took the Byzantines as allies Originally Posted by anatolian You must be kidding your nafs and rouh no a Muslim with an atom's weight of insight into al-wala wa bara would never utter a word in support of these people the North Koreans, Make Dua this filthy nation is wiped off the face of the Earth like the people of 'Ad and Sodom. To think that there is such thing as a better or worse Mushrik/nonbeliever is insane and shows a clear lack of understanding in Sharia all who reject and rebel against Allah are equally evil North Korea isn't harmless these swines give ballistic missiles to Assad and the Houthis who bomb your brothers and sisters in Syria and Yemen and they worship bronze statues you should be ashamed of yourself for uttering the slightest praise or defense from them as should anyone else who does. Abz2000 To think that there is such thing as a better or worse Mushrik/nonbeliever is insane and shows a clear lack of understanding in Sharia all who reject and rebel against Allah are equally evil. There is the concept of seeking refuge from the strong infidel and the weak believer, and the fact that the guide who assisted in the migration of The Two was a mushrik in whom there was sufficient trust to fulfil the required task. Although i think some of these so called "rebel" leaders are puppets who simply fulfil the role of keeping huge arms races and huge defence budgets justified as the bankers who fund all countries with fiat print and digital currency continue to consolidate power before the impending financial collapse.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1297
__label__cc	0.635141	0.364859	Dressed in art and architecture, and bubbling with the energy of youth! Northwest / Lombardy by Virginia Merlini Living in metro Milan for half a year, I used the convenient buses and trains of the Italian public transportation system to visit the beautiful cities located close by. And so, on a sunny morning my adventures led me just twenty-eight miles south to spend the day trekking Pavia. Pavia, through which flows the Ticino River, has a fascinating and lengthy history. The city – established in an unnamed epoch by a ferocious people who sold their fighting skills to others – was a military camp in 3rd-century BCE that protected the first Roman bridge built over the Ticino – claims the 5th-century reign of the last Roman emperor to subordinate Italy – was the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards in the 6th century – contains the bones of the Doctor of the Catholic Church St. Augustine of Hippo in the early 12th-century church of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro (St Peter in the Golden Sky) – is home to a university founded in the 14th-century – boasts the 15th-century Ospedale di San Matteo, a medieval clinic for all ill needing care that is now one of the most important hospitals in Italy – and is just a charming, lovely, art and ancient architecture filled, vibrant city in which to spend a day! Pavia, pretty cobblestone street Pavia, beautiful old door! The Ticino River as seen from the Coperto Modern Pavia is a small and beautiful river town once known as Ticinum to the Romans who absorbed it into their empire sometime around the 2nd century BCE. My goal was a brief but leisurely ingestion of the ancient river city and a visit to the ten ‘top’ sights listed on the printable map that I found online. But my day was such a smashing success and I loved the city so much that I did not leave until night fell and I was in danger of missing the last train back to Milan. With its location on a major river the surrounding plains of which host most of the area’s arable land, Pavia has a well established identity predating its Roman occupation. However, as is the case for many cities with prehistoric pedigrees, its pre-Roman roots are not fully agreed upon and are still disputed. Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) – a philosopher and commander in the early Roman military – said it was founded by Ligurian tribes – notably the red-haired Ligures – who had Celtic roots and occupied the area near modern Genova – a road to which the current bridge over the river leads! Ptolemy (100-c.170 CE) – the Greco-Roman polymath – claims that the Insurbes – a tall Gaulish people with roots in Lombardy – controlled the area. Although the truth of Pavia’s first settlement may be lost to us, the city remains a wonder worthy of a long visit! Pavia, Ticino River – old homes of the ancient fishing quarter on the riverbank Pavia is surrounded by the remnants from its long life and the views from a train window delight! The brief journey due south of Milan to Pavia – the terminus of Milan’s 16th-century Naviglio Pavese – takes one through rich farmland and the 80,000 acres of rice paddies of the Pianura Padana – the flat plain that makes up the fertile Po River valley. The Po is the major river of Lombardy and the Ticino is its left-bank tributary. Because water is the essential material needed for life of all forms, Italians situate themselves in terms of their proximity to the waters that sustain them. Hence, the locals call my train window view the Oltrepò pavese – the other Po (River) shore. And thus – as my favorite Milan guide Lara Ioan tells me – in Pavia Oltrepò pavese, in Parma Oltrepò parmense, in Ferrara Oltrepò ferrarese, in Mantova Oltrepò Mantovano, and in beautiful Florence through which the Arno River flows – Oltrarno! These wonderful sobriquets illuminate the Italian sentiment in ways my “tourist” nickname for this area – the ‘rice capital’ of Italy – cannot! About halfway to Pavia one will find the astonishing 14th-century walled monastery founded by the Carthusian monks: the Certosa di Pavia. Though no longer navigable, the Naviglio Pavese flows by the Certosa and is still used to irrigate the rice paddies that produce the short-grained, exclusively Italian, Arborio rice. The religious complex is worth a visit if just to see the sparkling white marble façade of the church that was modeled after Milan’s Duomo. But be warned – no photos are allowed inside and the large, art-filled interior is dimly lit making much of its beauty inaccessible. Certosa di Pavia – the white marble facade Pavia, railway station Pavia, Piazza del Duomo – the remains of the ancient twin churches Once arrived and map in hand, I began my visit to the ten recommended sights of Pavia at the brightly colored train station. The 19th-century Stazione di Pavia is conveniently located an easy and well marked fifteen-minute walk down the Corso Camillo Benso Cavour to the centro storico where one finds the large and impressive 15th-century Duomo, the Cattedrale di Pavia. My first visit was to the Piazza del Duomo. The piazza is large and popular – a lively place where students gather to eat their lunch on the steps of the cathedral. The square is dominated by the Duomo di Pavia, the seat of the diocese that was built on the site of ancient twin churches – Santo Stefano and Santa Maria del Popolo. The ancient remains of these churches are preserved in a small fenced off area and fountain that contains pieces of columns. Pavia, Piazza del Duomo The Duomo is constructed of brick, as is typical of the Lombard Romanesque and Renaissance architecture, and is very large – the largest church in the city actually. The church is dedicated to two saints and is formally known as the Cattedrale di Santo Stefano Martire e Santa Maria Assunta (Cathedral of Saint Stephen the Martyr and the Assumption of Saint Mary). The intended marble cladding of the face of the cathedral remains unfinished. Delays in construction of the church included a lack of funds, disagreements about what should be the design, and diversions to the completion and marble decorations of the interior that took precedence. Unlike the other Pavia churches I visited that day, this church was white marble inside – columns, altars, and embellishments. Of all the artifacts, I liked a wooden statue of the Virgin best. The Churches in the city centre My next stop was the Basilica di San Michele. This church dates from the early 12th-century. The current church was built on the site of an ancient Longobard church. The Longobards or Lombards – after whom the region is named – dominated Italy for two centuries – 568 to 774 CE. We have them to thank for the many Madonna’s in ancient art with auburn hair. The Basilica di San Michele was used as a palatine chapel and as such hosted the coronations of all the sovereigns of the Italic Kingdom. To reflect its stature, a decision was made to completely decorate the facade with stone. This was exceptional since only brick was used for churches at this time. Although the soft stone used has eroded, the grandeur of the decorations is still evident especially in the repeated designs found outside and inside on the capitals. I offer some montages to show the wonderful exterior carvings. Unfortunately, I got to the church about 3 minutes before it closed so my photos do not reflect its architectural and decorative grandeur. Because of my late entry, I did not get many careful photos of the interior. The well restored interior was a mix of artwork from the different ages. Duomo di Pavia, the interior of the chuch is all white marble Duomo di Pavia pulpit – carved wooden images of saints Basilica di San Michele – an ornate Baroque Virgin and Child The Basilica di San Teodoro is another 12th-century chiesa. This church is located on the side of the Ticino in what was the medieval fishing center of ancient Pavia. The Basilica di San Teodoro is kept open by Touring Club Italiano. Hence, there are generous visiting hours. These are mosaics from the original ancient 8th-century church floor. I found the hoofed feet of the mythological beings very interesting. These are not Christian holy figures and are likely deities or heroes, and creatures from the local religion that predated this Christian church. The mosaics were discovered when a new heating system was being installed in the basilica in 1998. The ancient floor was hidden by repairs made to the church centuries prior when the building had settled. My friend David Vine has found and translated two Italian sources which speak to the allegorical content of the mosaics. The figures in the mosaic are accompanied by inscriptions with the names Satrio and Anselmus – and one of the sources speculates that these are satyrs hunting. The church has paintings that tell the story of the lives of the two saints central to this basilica – Teodoro, Bishop of Pavia (died 778 CE) and the martyred Agnes (291-304 CE). The current basilica was built over an earlier church dedicated to Saint Agnes. Since few were literate in antiquity, art was used to convey the important history and mythologies of the faith. Often the intentionality of church art is hidden to the average tourist. But the language of color and form still speak to our senses and unite us to other cultures in our similar humanity. I see churches as art museums and in Lombardy all these ‘museums’ have no entry fees, making beauty and history and the heart of the people accessible to all. Basilica di San Teodoro – colorful ceiling A brief walk down the narrow alley – Via Porta Calcinara – to the river from San Teodoro brings one to the ruins of an ancient city gate of the same name and similar age to the basilica – Porta Calcinara. Pavia like many medieval centers was once walled, the main gates corresponding to the important roads to trade cities such as Milan and and Cremona. Porta Calcinara sat close to the Coperto, the bridge that led to the road to Genova and offered traders access to the town and local fisherman access to the river. The Basilica di San Pietro Cielo d’Oro is an early 8th-century church. It was built specifically to house the remains of St Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). The large marble tomb in the upper right photo in the montage below is the Arca di Sant’Agostino carved in 1362. It contains the 8th-century box with the relics of the author of the Confessions – a long autobiographical work that speaks of the saint’s ‘sinful youth’ (He once robbed an orchard and did not even eat the fruit he stole!) and his conversion to Christianity. It is still in publication after over 1,500 years! Pavia, Porta Calcinara Basilica di San Pietro Cielo d’Oro – above the front entry door Basilica di San Pietro Cielo d’Oro – above the front altar – ceiling mosaic The church is so famous that Dante mentions it in his Divine Comedy when he speaks of the burial of the Roman Christian philosopher Severino Boezio. And Boccaccio speaks of the church in his novella collection “The Decameron” (love tales ‘narrated’ by ten youths, seven women and three men, hiding in a villa near Florence to escape the Plague). I got to the basilica after 6pm. There were people singing what I thought was a chanting of the rosary. Since it was not a formal Mass, I proceeded to take photos even going so far as to lie on the floor behind the altar to get a full photo of the mosaic ceiling. When I put on my glasses and turned around I saw that the lay people who I thought were singing the rosary were actually monks chanting their vespers. I was mortified by my rudeness! This church, also, is kept open by the fabulous Touring Club Italiano. The Palazzo Broletto is a 12th-century building in the very large, very beautiful, and consequently very busy Piazza della Vittoria. The Broletto was built over Roman ruins and originally housed the local bishop. Now it is used as a place for temporary art exhibits. It is lovely to sit here and have a beverage! Pavia, the Broletto The main bridge over the Ticino which leads to the historic center of the city is the Ponte Coperto. This fabulous covered bridge with a church in the middle of it has Roman origins. Some of the original Roman elements are still part of the current 14th-century bridge. It is very beautiful and – as in ancient times – the road to which it connects Pavia still leads to Genova. The present bridge was built between 1352 and 1354 by the architects Giovanni da Ferrera and Jacopo da Cozzo on top of the ruins of the old Roman bridge that spanned the river in the 3rd century BCE when Pavia was still called Ticinum. In the middle of the bridge is a chapel dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk (1345-1393). St John – who hailed from Bohemia (the current Czech Republic) – was drowned in the Vitava River on orders of the king. John was the confessor of the queen and the king wanted to know what his wife had ‘confessed’. When St John refused to violate the sanctity of the confessional the king had him drowned. St John is now a protector saint from floods and drowning. He is a fitting patron to guard travelers on this bridge! Pavia, Ponte Coperto The Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine is impressive! This huge 14th-century church was once completely dressed in frescoes that covered the walls and all the very large columns. The remaining frescoes have been restored and the work speaks to their original beauty. Updated art was created in the chapels in the 16th and 19th century. But I love the older – though imperfect – frescoes. I have created montages so that I can share more photos. This fabulous and newer baptistry had an egg hanging over the font. This recalls the painting in the Pinacoteca di Brera by Piero della Francesca that was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro which shows an egg hanging over the Virgin’s head. In the pagan religion which was ultimately absorbed by and amalgamated with the newer cult of Christianity, the egg was emblematic of new life. In Catholicism, the egg symbolizes the new life of Christ when he awakes from death. The unbroken shell represents the tomb of Jesus and when cracked open the prophet has a new life – he is resurrected. Since the baptism is believed to offer the individual a new life in Christ, it is a fitting symbol to display over a baptismal font. The Castle and Museum The Castello Visconteo was closed when I arrived. I did not have the pleasure of exploring the building and its courtyards. This expansive and imposing castle which now serves as the Civic and Art Museum was built by Galeazzo II Visconti (1320-1378) who ruled Milan from 1349 until his death. Galeazzo wanted a splendiferous fortress located inside a large hunting park. The original grounds extended out ten kilometers from the castle. A small part of the park still serves the city but it is no longer attached to the castle grounds. The old moat around the castle is now a walking path! Pavia, Castello Visconteo – an interior courtyard Castello di Visconteo – one of the entry gates to the castle. Castello Visconteo – the old moat the surrounds the castle is now a walking path! The Chiesa di Maria Incoronata di Canepanova was the last church that I visited. This is a small, nondescript Renaissance church founded in 1492 to house and protect a painting of the Virgin to which miracles were attributed. The church facade and location are humble and devoid of the ostentation of the more glamorous and larger churches in the city. Perhaps the motivation for the simple exterior is the quiet gratefulness for the miracles alleged of the Virgin. The current church was built between 1500 and 1507. The famous architect Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (1447-1522) designed the building and although not lovely with old frescoes it houses the purported miraculous icon of the great Virgin at its altar, before which prayer and entreaty have reportedly resulted in miracles. Curious as I was, I could not find information on the ancient miracles that led to the icon’s veneration! Perhaps next time! One can see more of the work of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo in the Certosa di Pavia, for which he carved the bas-reliefs on the right front facade of the church. Torri Gentilizie, my best photo of all three towers! I really liked walking the piazza filled with students where one finds the Torri Gentilizie (Noble Towers). These three 12th-century medieval towers sit next to the ruins of the 7th-century church and crypt of San Eusebio, and are situated in the middle of the University of Pavia. Pavia was once known as a city of towers. There are the remains of sixty towers to be found in the present city but only six remain completely intact. It is difficult to get a good photo with all three towers. I tried!The expansive and renowned Università degli Studi di Pavia was founded in 1361. There is evidence, however, of an institute of higher learning in Pavia some 500 hundred years prior, in the 9th-century. The current school has over 21,000 students and eighteen departments. The buildings of the university are found throughout the city. Pavia, Università degli Studi di Pavia – courtyard of some of the university buildings. Lunch! I walked by a small kebap restaurant that smelled so good I had to have one. I had not had a kebap since my last time in Brussels nearly forty years ago. It was my standard dinner as a flight attendant because we had to stretch our small per diem that was not enough to cover normal meals. The Doner Kebap is made of seasoned meat stacked in a cone shape vertically onto a skewer and then roasted over a fire. It is an invention of the Ottoman Empire. Traditionally the meat cooked was lamb or mutton only. Nowadays, the meat is often a mixture of lamb or mutton, beef, chicken, and/or turkey. Looking for street art In pursuing one of my favorite photo-ethnographic themes, I only found a few Wall Madonna’s. I need more time to explore the old city to find more! This is a great Deposition of Christ sculpted on a university building that is part of the still famous 15th-century Ospedale di San Matteo which was founded to treat all those who were ill regardless of their class or circumstance. The frieze is located in the Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci, where one, also, finds the Torri Genilitizie and the crypt of the ancient, demolished church of San Eusebio. The crypt was closed when I got there. This beautiful wall sculpture is found in the area named Largo Giorgio La Pira – named for the famous Roman Catholic politician from Florence who died in 1977. My good friend David Vine translated the Latin inscription on the wall sculpture for me – The present royal court, a city once pious and renowned for its citizenry, establishes, as an act of piety, this hospice for the poor. Herein through caring physicians the sick are restored to health and the indigent live sheltered. Herein there thrives a single faith. Deposition of Christ – Latin inscription translated by David Vine – “The present royal court, a city once pious and renowned for its citizenry, establishes, as an act of piety, this hospice for the poor. Herein through caring physicians the sick are restored to health and the indigent live sheltered. Herein there thrives a single faith.” Here are the Wall Madonna’s that I discovered! Pavia, Wall Madonna Pretty streets! Pavia’s streets are paved in cobblestones, narrow, and very picturesque. The main vie and corsi (avenues and boulevards) are beautiful and lined with shops, cafes, bars, and thronging with people. But the side streets beg to be explored for their tiny pizzerias, local groceries, bars, and crafts studios.And off course, Pavia has fabulous doors! I finish this narrative with photos from my other favorite theme: doors! Pavia, pretty street! Pavia, pretty door! Pavia, door inside the courtyard of the 15th century Palazzo Orlandi This was the door to the Ristorante Bardelli on the bank of the Ticino. The owner saw me taking pictures and came out to show me around. She was very proud of her restaurant and its beautiful doors: Pavia, door to the Bardelli Ristorante I hope that this narrative and these photos which trace my walk around the historic center of the city succeed in translating my delight in Pavia and spur you to your own visit! Ciao! Virginia Louise Merlini More pics on her Facebook Profile Vacanze Pavesi Milan: Leonardo da Vinci’s Basin The green way in Rivanazzano Terme	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1298
__label__wiki	0.972011	0.972011	Lawsuit: Ithaca College men's crew team had culture of homophobia The accusations follow events which happened between 2012 and 2016. Lawsuit: Ithaca College men's crew team had culture of homophobia The accusations follow events which happened between 2012 and 2016. Check out this story on ithacajournal.com: https://ithacajr.nl/2xiJ1Q4 Matt Steecker, Ithaca Journal Published 6:58 a.m. ET Sept. 14, 2018 \| Updated 3:36 p.m. ET Sept. 24, 2018 Plenty of water was flowing through Taughannock Falls on Tuesday, Aug. 14. Matt Steecker, ithacajournal.com \| @MSteecker The Ithaca College Crew Team keeps boats inside the Ithaca College Ward Romer Boathouse by the Cayuga Inlet.(Photo: Matt Steecker / Ithaca Journal)Buy Photo Between 2013 and October 2015, at least nine gay rowers quit the Ithaca College crew team, a lawsuit states. Now, a former member of the crew team is suing the college; its athletic director, Susan Bassett; and crew team coaches Daniel Robinson and Becky Robinson, claiming that he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation. The Title IX lawsuit states Christopher Kelley, of Brooklyn, who attended Ithaca College from 2012 to 2016, is suing for damages to be proven at trial, compensatory damages for pain and suffering, and punitive damages. Kelley was outed as being gay while he was at a party attended by the men's and women's crew teams in December 2012. Following an alleged series of events that occurred between 2012 and 2016, a suit now states Daniel Robinson "engaged in unwanted, unwelcome, harassing and discriminatory conduct directed at (Kelley) and other gay men who were members of the IC men's crew team." After the party in December 2012, a member of the men's crew team told Daniel Robinson that Kelley was gay so "he knew what to do with" Kelley, court documents stated. Kelley was then forced to make a public Facebook post during finals week to inform four freshmen rowers he was gay. In the 2013-14 school year, another member of the team who was a gay sophomore was harassed and abused by a freshman, court records stated. The sophomore quit the team and attempted suicide, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Daniel Robinson did nothing about the incident and permitted the rower to practice with the team even though he was written up five times for calling his roommate an anti-gay slur and being placed on probation for this. In the 2014-15 school year, two rowers were outed for being gay at a crew party and they were harassed by a member of the men's crew team, states the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. One of those crew members quit the team. Kelley brought this incident to Daniel Robinson's attention, reminding the coach a similar incident happened to him; however, the coach failed to support them in any way, the suit continues. The rowers who outed and harassed the gay team members were not reprimanded, disciplined or punished. The lawsuit also states three closeted gay crew team members quit the team because they did not feel comfortable because of the homophobic culture. During the summer of 2015, Kelley wrote a coming-out story that was published on Outsports, a sports news website focusing on LGBT issues. The story details the party in which Kelley came out as well as his experiences after coming out. The suit states Daniel Robinson later called Kelley about 10 times over the course of the weekend, and some of the things he said included “you embarrassed me” and “you should be ashamed of yourself.” Daniel Robinson later told Kelley he would be suspended for the whole fall season and the crew team would be punished because Kelley was hazed, the suit states. The crew team was disqualified from a race. The lawsuit states Daniel Robinson said Bassett decided what the punishment would be. Bassett emailed Kelley to say Daniel Robinson and Becky Robinson consulted with her in deciding to suspend Kelley, documents stated. The athletic director also informed Kelley that the team was not being punished for the Outsports story, but was being held accountable for the behavior described in the article, which she said was damaging to the crew team. However, the suit also states Kelley had a meeting with Bassett in which she told him she did not read the story because she could not get past a curse word mentioned in the first paragraph. Bassett also told Kelley he would be suspended for the first two races of the season and that he had to participate in an alcohol awareness program for novices to let them know drinking was not appropriate, according to the suit. Following the meeting, the crew team, excluding one senior rower, refused to talk with Kelley, records state. The rowers did not allow Kelley to ride in their cars to and from the boathouse for practice, and they did not allow him to eat in the school cafeteria with them, the lawsuit states. The Ithaca College Crew Team keeps boats inside the Ithaca College Ward Romer Boathouse by the Cayuga Inlet. (Photo: Matt Steecker / Ithaca Journal) Prior to a meeting in September 2015, Daniel Robinson told Kelley he had just learned what a micro-aggression was, the suit states. He then said Kelley should not be upset when he is called an anti-gay slur “and that he should not sweat the small stuff,” the suit reads. At the meeting, Daniel Robinson mentioned the Outsports story, questioning the team if there was anything wrong with the activities mentioned in the first paragraph, documents state. A coxswain spoke in favor of Kelley, but Daniel Robinson said the meeting was not called for that purpose. The lawsuit alleges heterosexual members of the team were assigned to better boats and better boat seats in races. “At all times relevant hereto, a certain culture on the men's crew team was created and maintained by D.H. Robinson,” the suit states. “At all times relevant hereto, straight members of the men's crew team made D.H. Robinson feel like 'one of the guys.’” Members of the team were not reprimanded or disciplined for calling gay team members anti-gay slurs and derogatory terms, even though they were using such language in addressing gay team members in front of Daniel Robinson, the lawsuit states. An account of Kelley’s circumstances was provided to Nancy Pringle, senior vice president and general counsel of Ithaca College, the lawsuit states. On Nov. 5, Pringle indicated she would discuss the plaintiff’s situation with an investigating officer, and eventually both an internal and external investigation were commenced. The final results of the investigation, to the extent there were any final results, were not released. Pringle entered an agreement to waive the defense of timeliness and statute of limitations in connection with this matter. Within the counts listed in the lawsuit, it is alleged Daniel Robinson’s conduct was “severe and it was pervasive because it occurred consistently over time.” The conduct disturbed Kelley’s well-being and made him afraid to continue as a member of the team, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states Becky Robinson and Bassett were “likewise grossly negligent because they knew or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of D.H. Robinson’s conduct regarding gay men's crew team members.” Becky Robinson, who is married to Daniel Robinson, was surprised to hear there is a lawsuit about an incident on the crew team when reached Thursday. "I thought it was addressed and resolved with a full-out investigation," Becky Robinson said. "A lot of this has come from miscommunication that has come about, and it's not a good idea to continue with this circle." Although the lawsuit states Becky Robinson was the head coach of the crew team and supervised Daniel Robinson, she said this information was incorrect because she is the head coach of the women's crew team, and she and Daniel share equal roles. "I really liked Chris as an undergrad and appreciated who he was," Becky Robinson said. "I don't want to get into saying anything bad, because I thought he was a great guy. It's too bad, because I really respected him and I still do." Becky Robinson and Daniel Robinson declined further comment. Daniel Robinson has been associated with Ithaca College crew since his enrollment in 1975. In the 2017-2018 school year, he completed his 31st year as the coach of the men's team. Becky Robinson is in her 23rd year as the women's varsity coach. In April, the crew program celebrated its 50th anniversary. Susan Bennett declined to comment. Kelsey Shannon, Kelley's attorney, declined to comment. More: IC president appointed to national higher ed organization's Council of Presidents More: VAN SICKLE: From tears to 'Taryn it up,' IC's Cordani is Female Athlete of the Year More: Harmful blue-green algae reported in Dryden Lake Gallery: Scenes from the first day of GrassRoots 2018 The GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is in its 28th year. Matt Steecker / Ithaca Journal The Bubba George Stringband was the first band to perform at the GrassRoots Festival. Matt Steecker / Ithaca Journal Vendors played the bongos as festivalgoers pass by their tent. Matt Steecker / Ithaca Journal Follow @MSteecker on Twitter. Read or Share this story: https://ithacajr.nl/2xiJ1Q4 UPDATE: Victim in stabbing near Cornell dies as suspect still on the loose	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1300
__label__wiki	0.912985	0.912985	Schrems II: What the latest challenge to transatlantic data transfers means for IT Austrian lawyer Max Schrems’ first complaint about Facebook’s transfer of his personal data to the U.S. brought down the Safe Harbor data sharing agreement. Now Europe’s highest court is examining his complaint about the use of standard contract clauses for this purpose. By Peter Sayer Senior Editor, CIO \| PT When Max Schrems asked the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to stop Facebook Ireland transferring his personal information to the U.S. in 2013, he couldn’t have foreseen that it would put the personal data processing operations of thousands of other businesses in legal jeopardy. Schrems’ 2013 complaint went all the way to the European Union’s top court, which in 2015 unexpectedly struck down the Safe Harbor Agreement on transatlantic data transfers. Thousands of businesses that had relied on this to justify their export of customers’ and employees’ personal data from the EU to the U.S. for processing suddenly had to seek alternate legal justification — or find data hosting and processing resources inside the EU. [ Beware the 9 warning signs of bad IT architecture and see why these 10 old-school IT principles still rule. \| Sign up for CIO newsletters. ] The demise of Safe Harbor EU data protection law says that personal information can’t be exported to a regime offering less protection than it has in the EU. Various legal mechanisms exist to extend that protection, including binding corporate rules for intra-group transfers, or standard contract clauses approved by the European Commission. Safe Harbor was one of these — essentially a declaration that, as long as businesses followed certain rules, the European Commission considered that U.S. law provided adequate protection. After months of uncertainty following its demise, it was replaced by Privacy Shield, a new agreement between EU and U.S. administrations allowing transatlantic data transfers to resume. However, it turned out that Facebook had never relied on Safe Harbor at all but rather on standard contract clauses to protect its data transfers under EU privacy law. Schrems duly revised his original complaint about Facebook’s processing of his data to target standard contract clauses, and that complaint has once again made its way to the Court of Justice of the European Union amid speculation that it too could threaten businesses’ export of personal data to the U.S. Judgment in this new case, which has become known as “Schrems II,” isn’t expected until early in 2020, but a public hearing on July 9 gave hints about how things could turn out. Interestingly, Schrems isn’t the plaintiff in the case, but a defendant. The plaintiff is the Irish DPC, which filed suit against him and Facebook as a legal maneuver to obtain a ruling on matters of law raised by his complaint. At stake is whether the U.S. government undertakes mass processing of the personal data of EU citizens when that data is held in the U.S., whether that form of surveillance is legal under EU privacy law, and whether standard contract clauses on data transfers provide adequate privacy protection for EU citizens. Standard contract clauses in the crosshairs Schrems and the DPC agree that U.S. surveillance laws breach fundamental EU privacy rights: Where they differ is on what can be done about it. Schrems wants the DPC to stop individual data transfers where standard contract clauses provide insufficient legal protection; the DPC says it has no power to do so. The EU is seeking to make improvements in this area. European Commissioner for Justice Vĕra Jourová said on June 13: “We are already working to modernize standard contractual clauses. This will make it easier for companies to share data when they contract processing services, within the EU or abroad.” Facebook, meanwhile, says that there’s no problem with its data transfers as the European Commission has already ruled, through its acceptance of the Privacy Shield data-sharing framework that replaced Safe Harbor, that U.S. surveillance laws pose no threat to EU citizens’ fundamental rights. The adequacy of Privacy Shield, though, is the target of another legal challenge the court is mulling, this one from a group of French NGOs. And there’s the rub: If the CJEU decides to take a very broad view of the French case or of the second Schrems complaint, as it did with his first, it could decide to invalidate the standard contract clauses used by Facebook and others, and Privacy Shield too. Actions for CIOs For CIOs and general counsel, then, it could be 2015 all over again. Some processing of EU citizens’ personal information in the U.S. could be outlawed overnight, leaving businesses to either stop it, find somewhere else to do it, or take a gamble on the consequences. While there’s still time, CIOs need to figure out what personal information their organizations hold on EU citizens, whether they are processing it outside the EU, and what consent or legal justification they have for that processing. On the bright side, as long as their organization is in compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which entered force on May 25, 2018, they should already have many of the answers at their fingertips. The European Data Protection Board has produced a handy guide to the derogations provided by Article 49 of the GDPR that will help CIOs decide what to do next. Some processing of personal information is always allowed, such as to comply with a contract to provide goods or services to the person concerned, or if the person has consented to the data transfer and has been made aware of the privacy risks involved. Again, organizations in compliance with GDPR will already have a record of which data they can transfer under these derogations. For the rest, there are still a few months left in which to prepare technological responses to a potential data disaster that may never happen. This story, "Schrems II: What the latest challenge to transatlantic data transfers means for IT" was originally published by CIO. Technology Industry Peter Sayer covers enterprise applications for CIO.com.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1301
__label__cc	0.670362	0.329638	As it happens, you aren’t the only person who’s sick of Bert hanging around and eating. The United States saw a 0.6 percent decline in the number of inmates at state and federal prisons in 2010, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report issued last week. That might not seem significant until you realize that the total U.S. prison population hasn’t decreased since 1972. So why is Uncle Bert swilling eggnog at your house instead of toilet wine in Bowling Green? Well, you could blame the economy. It’s no secret that a lot of states have struggled with shrinking budgets. They’ve cut or frozen services, including higher education and transportation. It was only a matter of time until people started reconsidering the cost of housing, feeding, clothing and guarding 1.6 million criminals. To save money, some states have strengthened their re-entry and parole programs. The hope is those programs will keep offenders out of trouble, so they don’t have to go back to prison for parole violations, the Pew Center on the States reports. So that’s one theory. The Bureau of Justice Statistics says that fewer people are being sent to prison, though the bureau isn’t sure exactly why that is. The agency doesn’t know whether fewer people are being convicted, or whether judges and juries are giving out lighter sentences. Whatever the reason, the states’ prison populations dropped by 10,881 to about 1.4 million last year. (The federal numbers went up, but it was the smallest increase since 1980.) Kansas and Missouri were among the states that saw their inmate numbers go up in 2010. That could change, though. In Missouri, a state task force has suggested several ideas that could save $7.7 million to $16.6 million in corrections costs over five years. It’s a big change from years ago, when politicians insisted on tougher sentences. Critics worry that public safety could suffer if cost becomes the driving concern when it comes to prison sentences. The silver lining, though, is you finally have something to talk about with Uncle Bert.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1302
__label__cc	0.741336	0.258664	Insurance Law Hawaii A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond First Party Insurance Cross Motions on Coverage for Collapse Denied Cross-motions for summary judgment designed to determine coverage for the Church’s collapse claim were both denied. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church v. S. Must. Church Ins. Co., 2019 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 24705 (W. D. N. C. Feb. 15, 2019). The Church sought summary judgment on its claim for bad faith, arguing that the insurer denied the claim without knowing North Carolina law on court concurrent causation or partial collapse. The Church claimed that the insurer denied the claim without following up on its initial investigation, without addressing all possible areas of coverage, and without knowing the applicable law. The Church’s motion was denied, however, because it had not met its burden of showing there was no genuine issue as to any material fact as a matter of law. The Insurer moved for summary judgment on all of the Church’s claims. Apart from the Church’s punitive and treble damages claims, the court found that the Insurer had not met its burden to prevail in its cross motion for summary judgment. The Church had not shown sufficient evidence of the Insurer’s bad faith in investigating and denying the claims to elevate them to a treble damages case. So summary judgment was granted as to these claims. The motion was denied, however, for claims of breach of contract, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unfair claims settlement practices, and bad faith. Posted by Tred Eyerly on April 03, 2019 in Bad Faith, Collapse, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Strict Definition of Collapse Bars Coverage The policy's requirement that collapse constitute an abrupt falling down of the building barred coverage for the homeowner. Marigliani v. Citizens Ins. Co. of Am., 2019 Conn. Super. LEXIS 137 (Conn Super. Ct. Feb. 1, 2019). The plaintiffs' hoe was built in 1985 and they purchased it in 2001. A home inspection revealed normal settlement cracks in the basement wall. From 2001 on, plaintiffs did not notice any cracks in the basement walls until 2014. Thereafter, they noticed horizontal cracking. Inspectors found numerous spider-web cracks running vertically and horizontally. A defect in the concrete would continue to deteriorate the concrete and the foundation walls would continue to bulge inward until they structurally failed. There was no way to arrest the process or to repair the existing damage. The plaintiffs filed a claim with Travelers, who insured the home since October 31, 2010, and with Citizens, who insured the home from October 31, 2001 through October 31, 2010. Both denied coverage, and the plaintiffs sued both carriers. The Citizens policy insured collapse of a building or any part of a building caused by hidden decay or by use of defective material. Under the Travelers policy, collapse was covered only if there was an abrupt falling down or caving in of a building. For the loss to have occurred during one of the Citizens policy periods, it would have to have been discovered or reasonably discoverable by October 31, 2010 at the latest. No evidence supported this conclusion. The loss was neither discovered nor reasonably discoverable until at least 2012. Under the Travelers policy, neither the house nor a part of the house had fallen down or caved in. The plaintiffs continued to occupy the house from the time they became aware of the problem. There was no evidence that the danger was imminent and no evidence that the home or any part of it was uninhabitable. Therefore, both insurers were entitled to summary judmgent. Posted by Tred Eyerly on April 01, 2019 in Collapse, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Trapped Squirrel Causing Electrical Arc Equals No Coverage The Supreme Court of Iowa agreed the city had no coverage for damage to its property after a squirrel triggered an electrical arc. City of W. Liberty v. Employers Mut. Cas. Co., 2019 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 6 (Feb. 1, 2019). A squirrel climbed on to an electrical transformer at West Liberty's power plant. While touching a ground steel frame, the squirrel came into contact with a bare cable clamp that carried 7200 volts of electricity. This contact created a conductive path between the clamp and the grounded frame. Arcing resulted. The squirrel was killed and the arcing caused $213,524 worth of damage to West Liberty's transformer and other equipment. West Liberty notified its all-risk insurer, Employer's Mutual Casualty Company (EMC) of the loss. Coverage was denied based upon an "Electrical Currents" exclusion in the policy. The policy excluded coverage for "loss caused by arcing or by electrical currents other than lightning." West Liberty filed suit. Cross motions for summary judgment were filed. The trial court granted EMC's motion and denied West Liberty's motion. The court held that it could not decide that the squirrel's actions were a cause of damages because the squirrel did not actually do anything to cause damages. Instead, it merely touched things it should not have touched. The arc caused all of the damages. The court of appeals affirmed, relying upon the electrical currents exclusion. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed. The language of the exclusion was straight-forward. If arcing caused the loss, the loss was excluded. West Liberty, however, argued the squirrel was the efficient proximate cause of the loss. The efficient proximate cause doctrine applied when two or more causes, at least one covered by the policy and at least one excluded, contributed to a loss. This case, however, was not one of two independent causes, one of which was covered and one excluded. The squirrel did not independently contribute to the loss, i.e., other than through the arcing. Therefore, the decision of the court of appeals was affirmed. Posted by Tred Eyerly on March 25, 2019 in All-Risk Policy, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Insured's Complaint for Breach of Contract and Bad Faith Adequately Pleads Consequential Damages The appellate court overturned the trial court's dismissal of the insured's complaint seeking consequential damages. D.K. Prop. Inc. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh v, Pa., 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 329 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 17, 2019). The insured's building began to shift and exhibit structural damage, including cracks, after construction began in an adjoining building. The insured submitted a claim under its commercial insurance policy. The insurer did not pay the claim, nor did it disclaim coverage. The insured sued, alleging breach of contract for failure to pay covered losses under the policy. The second cause of action was for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The complaint also requested consequential damages in connection with each cause of action. The trial court granted the insurer's motion to dismiss the claim for consequential damages. The issue was whether, at the pleading stage, a claim for consequential damages arising from the insurer's processing of the claim, required a detailed factual description or explanation for why such damages, which did not directly flow from the breach, were also recoverable. The complaint alleged that rather than pay the claim, the insurer made unreasonable and increasingly burdensome demands for three years. The insured alleged that this was a tactic to make the claim so expensive to pursue that the insured would abandon it. The investigatory process had taken so long that the structural damage to the building worsened. Among the consequential damages alleged were engineering costs, painting, repairs, monitoring equipment and moisture abatement to address water intrusion, loss of rents, and other expenses attributable to mitigating further damage to the property. An insured could sue for consequential damages resulting from an insurer's failure to provide coverage if such damages were foreseen or should have been foreseen when the contract was made. At the pleading stage, the question was whether the plaintiff had stated a claim, not whether the plaintiff was able to establish its claim. Here, the insured met the pleading requirements with respect to consequential damages. Despite the insurer's call for a heightened pleading standard, an insured's obligation to "take all reasonable steps to protect the covered property from further damage by a covered cause of loss" supported plaintiff's allegation that some or all of the alleged damages were foreseeable. Posted by Tred Eyerly on March 04, 2019 in First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Suit Limitation Provision Upheld The policy's one year suit limitation provision was upheld, depriving insureds of benefits under the policy. Oswald v. South Central Mut. Ins. Co., 2018 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1077 (Dec. 24, 2018). The Oswalds' hog barn burned down on June 21, 2016. Arson was a possible cause. The Oswalds were insured under a combination policy issued by North Star Mutual Insurance Company and South Central Mutual Insurance Company. Central provided coverage for basic perils, broad perils, and limited perils, which included fire losses. The Central policy required property claims to be brought within one year after the loss. By endorsement, the North Star policy required suits be brought within two years after the loss. Presumably, the claims was denied, although the decision does not state this. During the investigation of the cause of the fire, the Oswalds attempted to serve a complaint on Central on June 1, 2017, alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and breach of good faith and fair dealing. The Oswalds failed to properly serve Central and moved to dismiss their complaint without prejudice. The dismissal was granted. The Oswalds then filed an almost identical complaint on September 25, 2017, and properly served the complaint. Central file a motion to dismiss because the suit was filed past the one-year limitation contained in the policy. The motion was granted. On appeal, the court found the one-year limitation was not inherently unreasonable. While investigating the cause of the fire, the Oswalds still managed to file a complaint before the one-year deadline. Had the Oswalds properly served Central, they would have commenced a suit regarding their current claims within the one-year limitations period. Nor was there any statute prohibiting the one-year limitation period. The Oswalds also argued that the policy was ambiguous. The policy continuously referred to the two insurance companies as "we" or "us" instead of including a clear delineation between the two companies. But the policy also clarified that all its terms "applied to both companies listed on the declarations unless otherwise designated." The Oswalds contended that the policy did not provide a clear and unambiguous limitations period. However, the one-year limitation was clearly stated within the policy conditions. Finally, the one-year limitation was not tolled due to either fraudulent concealment or equitable principles. The Oswalds failed to identify an affirmative statement which concealed a fact, defeating their argument for tolling the one-year limitation due to fraudulent concealment. Equitable tolling was inappropriate when there were no circumstances beyond the plaintiffs' control that prevented service of a complaint within the limitations period. Here, the Oswalds attempted to commence a suite within the one-year limit, but failed for reasons within their control. Thus, equitable tolling was inappropriate. Consequently, the lower court's dismissal was affirmed. Posted by Tred Eyerly on February 25, 2019 in First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Complaint Against Life Insurance Agent Survives Motion to Dismiss The plaintiff's suit against her agent for allegedly misleading her regarding certain investment strategies for proceeds of a life insurance policy and fees survived the agent's motion to dismiss. Waldemar v. Golden, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204801 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 4, 2018). The facts were based upon the allegations in the complaint. Golden, the agent, sold a life insurance policy to plaintiff's husband. After her husband's death, Golden contacted plaintiff and offer his services to handle the investment of the $426,000 life insurance proceeds. Golden gained control of the life insurance proceeds and the money in plaintiff's IRA account. Golden had plaintiff sign an agreement without explaining his $395 per hour fee plus disbursements for any time spent on the matter. When Golden took control of the accounts, the contained $426,319, plus interest from the insurance proceeds and $79,266.34 from the IRA. Plaintiff instructed that the funds were not to be traded until further notice. Nevertheless, Golden started trading the funds and reduced the account by almost $200,000. Golden had charged here $50,000 in fees up to that point. Plaintiff sued and Golden moved to dismiss. Golden argued, among other things, that plaintiff's allegations that she gave oral instructions while the agreement required written instructions. Plaintiff's claims for fraudulent inducement and common law fraud was sufficient. The agreement said Golden would act according to plaintiff's instructions and investment objections which was false in light of what transactions followed. Plaintiff sufficiently stated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty and for negligence. The breach of contract claim was also adequately pled. While Golden was correct in noting that generally oral modifications to written agreements were unenforceable if proscribed by the written agreement, there were exceptions to the rule where, for example, there was detrimental reliance. The agreement obligated Golden to act in plaintiff's best interests, in a matter consistent with her investment objectives and instructions, in good faith, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Golden breached these obligations and plaintiff suffered damages as a result. Posted by Tred Eyerly on January 16, 2019 in First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Insured Proves Collapse, but Fails to Establish Any Value for Loss While the insured was able to carry his burden to show the collapse of a roof, he failed to establish damages under the policy. Iannucci v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 203687 (N.D. N.Y. Dec. 3, 2018). In 2005, the insured purchased a parcel of land together with a three-story building constructed in 1870. No one resided in the building at the time of purchase or afterward. The building was not well maintained and all utilities were shut off. No work was done on the building between 2005 and 2014. Between 2011 and 2014, the Fire Department issued multiple zoning/ordinance violation notices ordering the insured to make various improvements to the building and property. A notice issued in October 2013 stated that "the roof on your house needs to be replaced." Before any work was done on the roof, however, it collapsed during a snowstorm on February 21, 2014. The insured's all-risk policy excluded loss caused by such things as enforcement of building codes, failure to preserve property, wear and tear, aging, and faulty, inadequate or defective maintenance. The policy covered collapse, however, for "(a) the entire collapse of a covered building structure; (b) the entire collapse of part of a covered building structure; and (c) direct physical loss to covered property caused by (a) or (b)." The collapse had to be "sudden and accidental" and caused by, among other things, weight of snow which collected on a roof. On March 5, 2013, the fire department issued a violation notice directing the insured to demolish the building because the roof had collapsed. The City's file indicated that the roof's collapse had been caused by the accumulation of snow. The insured notified Allstate. A claims adjuster visited the property and photographed extensive damage to the building. Allstate denied the claim based upon an expert's report that the cause of the roof collapse was the lack of adequate and timely maintenance. Allstate cited several additional exclusions, including enforcement of building codes, failure to preserve property, wear and tear, and inadequate maintenance in denying the claim. The insured sued and a bench trial was conducted. The court found that the collapse of the roof was sudden, but the "entire collapse" of the building was not. The insured therefore failed to prove that the loss of the building structure was within coverage under the policy, even if the collapse of the roof was covered. The policy stated it did "not cover loss to covered property . . . when :(a) there are two or more causes of loss to the covered property; and (b) the predominant cause(s) of loss is (are) excluded" from coverage. Here, the evidence did not show that any cause was predominant to the weight of snow in directly bringing about the collapse of the roof. Instead, the preponderance of the evidence indicated that the most direct and obvious cause of the collapse of the roof was the weight of the snow. Allstate failed to prove that any of the other causes, such as inadequate maintenance - considered separately or together - predominated over the weight of the snow as the efficient cause of the collapse. Therefore, the insured carried his burden to prove coverage for collapse of the roof. Nevertheless, the insured failed to establish the value of his loss under the policy. The insured failed to provide any evidence regarding the value of the roof or from which to infer its value, e.g., the market value of the building before and after the collapse or the cost of replacing the roof with one of like kind or quality. Allstate, on the other hand, established that the roof was worthless. Accordingly, the insured was not entitled to damages for the loss of the roof. Posted by Tred Eyerly on January 14, 2019 in Actual Cash Value, All-Risk Policy, Collapse, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Labor Costs Not Excluded From Depreciation When Determining Actual Cash Value The court dismissed a class action suit against State Farm which sought to establish that a calculation of actual cash value (ACV) in a homeowners policy could not depreciate the cost of labor. Cranfield v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199618 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 26, 2018) Cranfield submitted a claim to State Farm after his home was damaged by a storm. An adjuster inspected the damage and an estimate for repair was sent to Cranfield. The total cost to repair the damage, the replacement cost value, was $4,044.86. State Farm calculated the depreciation amount to be $1,348.57. With the deductible, State Farm sent a net ACV of $842.29 to Cranfield. The policy had a two-step loss settlement provision under which State Farm paid the ACV at the time of loss. Only the ACV was paid until the actual repair was made. Once the repair was completed, State Farm would pay the additional amount that the policy holder actually spent. Cranfield filed a class action suit, challenging the manner which State Farm calculated ACV. He argued that including labor along with materials in the depreciation calculation resulted in an ACV payment that was less than he was contractually entitled. The court disagreed. As used in the policy, ACV was not ambiguous. Black's defined "ACV" as "replacement costs minus normal depreciation" or fair market value. There was nothing in the policy to indicate that the intent of the parties was to limit the definition of ACV to exclude labor from depreciation. The policy did not separately insure the labor and building materials, but the sum total of these parts. Accordingly, the term ACV was unambiguous and State Farm's inclusion of labor in depreciation did not breach the policy. Posted by Tred Eyerly on January 09, 2019 in Actual Cash Value, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Deterioration Known To Insured Forecloses Collapse Coverage The insurer properly denied coverage for collapse of a building when the insured knew from an expert’s examination that the walls of his house were deteriorating. Jaimes v. Liberty Ins. Corp., 2018 U. S. Dust. LEXIS 198224 (D. Colo. Nov. 21, 2018). The insured discovered a crack in the wall of his home. He hired Anchor Engineering to inspect. Anchor found a large bulge in the south wall. Several problems with deterioration were noted in the basement. The structure of the house was unstable and dangerous. The insured filed a claim with his homeowners insurer, Liberty. The claim was denied because damage to the wall was the result of deterioration. The south wall of the house later collapsed. The insured submitted a second claim. Liberty again denied the claim because the collapse was the result of deterioration of the wall. The insured sued. The policy covered collapse of any part of a building caused by hidden decay. Liberty argued there was no coverage for the first claim because no wall had collapsed. The insured argued the cracking wall was subsumed into his second claim and should be covered as hidden decay. For purposes of this decision, the court agreed the first claim was subsumed into the second claim. Nevertheless, there was no coverage. There were several statements in the Anchor letter that would put a reasonable person on notice that there was decay in the house. For example, the letter stated that in the basement, a number of floor joist ends had deteriorated. Further, mortar deterioration was severe. The parties agreed that the terms deterioration and decay were interchangeable. Accordingly, there was no genuine dispute about the fact that Anchor communicated with the insured that there was decay around the wood bearing plate in the foundation wall and in floor joists. The insured should have understood the decay that Anchor observed was related to his explanation of the south wall - the wall that eventually collapsed. Therefore, the insured reasonably should have known of the decay before the collapse occurred. Therefore, the collapse was not caused by hidden decay and there was no coverage under the policy. Posted by Tred Eyerly on December 26, 2018 in Collapse, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Bad Faith after Insured's Home Destroyed by Fire The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment that the insurer acted in bad faith when it denied the insured's claim based upon misrepresentations in the application after destruction of his house by fire. Hayes v. Metropolitan Pro. and Cas. Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 31813 (8th Cir. Nov. 9, 2018). Hayes' home was insured by Met under a homeowner's policy. Hayes used the detached garage as part of a home base for his plumbing business. He also rented out the second and third levels of the residence to a tenant and her two children. When Hayes applied for the policy in 2007, Met argues he indicated on the application that the premises were not used to conduct business, and were not used as rental property. The application, however, was a confusing document. Hayes testified that he did not recall personally completing the application in 2007, that he worked with an independent insurance agent when it was filled out, and it was signed with his signature stamp used by his sister. With regard to the tenants, the form asked whether "the residence was held exclusively for rental?" The pre-printed "x" was marked out next to the letter "N" in answer to the question. Regarding the business, the form asked whether "any farming or other business was conducted on the premises?" Again, a box indicating "no" was marked with a preprinted x. Hayes testified that while he did maintain some plumbing supplies at the property, very little of the plumbing equipment was located in the detached garage due to limited space. Further, he had a separate commercial business policy to cover the plumbing business in the detached garage. On January 24, 2013, the home was destroyed by a fire. Hayes filed a claim with Met. Met made a notation as of January 28, 2013 that it believed the fire was intentionally set. By January 29, 2013, Met knew that Hayes was operating part of his business at the detached garage near the premises, and that he leased the upper portion of the premises to tenants. Yet, Met did not deny the claim until August 5, 2014. It cancelled the policy ab initio based upon material misrepresentations, and enclosed a check for all premiums Hayes had paid, with interest. Hayes returned the premium check. Met also sent a check to Hayes' bank for $127,342.97 to satisfy the balance due on Hayes's mortgage. Hayes sued Met in October 2014 for breach of contract and bad faith denial/investigation. The district court dismissed the breach of contract claim as time-barred. The court, however, entered judgment in favor of Hayes on the bad faith claim. The court found that the insurance application was completed by the independent insurance agent and signature stamped by Hayes's sister. Further, the application contained ambiguous questions. Accordingly, there was a lack of evidence that Hayes knowingly provided false answers on the application with the intent to deceive. Damages in the amount of $439,455, and attorneys' fees of $86,160 were awarded to Hayes. The Eighth Circuit affirmed. Met could not insulate itself from a bad faith claim by creating the fiction that a contrct never existed by voiding or rescinding it "ab initio." Hayes met his burden of proving the elements of bad faith under Nebraska law - Met had no reasonable basis for denying the claim and did so with knowledge or with reckless disregard of that fact. The damage award was affirmed. The district court properly calculated the economic damages Hayes suffered as a result of Met's bad faith refusal to pay pursuant to the provisions of the improperly rescinded contract. Finally, the attorneys' fees award was also affirmed. Posted by Tred Eyerly on December 19, 2018 in Attorneys' Fees, Bad Faith, First Party Insurance \| Permalink \| Comments (0) Tred R. Eyerly Tred Eyerly practices law in Honolulu, Hawaii, and focuses on insurance coverage issues. Email \| Bio \| Representative Cases and Publications Client Rating AV Rating Martindale.com Actual Cash Value Advertising Injury All-Risk Policy Attorneys' Fees Bad Faith Broker's Negligence Business Risk Exclusions Chinese Drywall Claims Made Policies Comprehensive General Liability Contract Exclusion Designated Premises Endorsement Director's and Officer's Insurance Duty to Cooperate Duty to Defend Duty to Indemnify Ensuing Loss Excess Coverage Flood Policy Infringment LHWCA Pollution Exclusion Pollution Liability Policy Public Adjuster Stacking Coverage Trigger of Coverage UIM/UM Coverage Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert Robert Thomas's Inverse Condemnation blog Mark Murakami's Hawaii Ocean Law Anna Oshiro's Hawaii Construction Law Rebecca Copeland's Record on Appeal David McCauley’s Hawaii Immigration Lawyer This blog is for informational purposes only. By reading it, no attorney-client relationship is formed. If you want legal advice, please retain an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. This blog is not sponsored or approved by Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert or its clients. The opinions expressed here belong only the individual contributor(s). © All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1305
__label__cc	0.532768	0.467232	Aging Southeast: Seniors find purpose, friendship at The Bridge By Elizabeth Jenkins February 17, 2016 July 13th, 2016 Aging, Aging Southeast, Juneau, Southeast The Bridge in Juneau is one of two formalized adult day programs in Southeast. The program costs $180 a day and accepts Medicaid waivers. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO) Health care and housing options are limited for seniors in Southeast, but a few adult day programs are offering relief for care providers, families and friends. They’re often a stop-gap solution until space opens up in a home. http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2016/02/18BRIDGE.mp3 At Juneau’s Bridge Adult Day Program, it isn’t all bingo and reruns of Lawrence Welk. Kelsey Wood, the program supervisor, says the aging adults go on field trips. They play Nintendo Wii –virtual bowling is a favorite. And they do what some might describe as contemporary exercises. The seniors recently learned a pop-culture dance phenomenon known as the Nae Nae. “There’s some leg movements that go to it. There’s like a stanky leg thing or something like that. … They’re like, ‘This how people dance right now?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we remember when the twist was popular,’” Wood said. Like a lot of things at The Bridge, Wood says the exercises can be adapted for seniors with limited mobility. And that same thoughtfulness is given to people with memory loss, which most of The Bridge’s clients experience. This morning, Wood is playing 7-up with some of The Bridge’s clients. “It helps if you put all of the suits together,” Wood explains. Later there’s a party planned in celebration of Wood’s upcoming wedding. But for now, she’s helping Beth Fletcher play her best game. And after a few minutes playing cards, Fletcher is throwing down winning hands. It’s an activity she’s nostalgic for. She grew up playing Buck Euchre with her siblings in Minnesota and says she loves the attention she gets from Wood. “Boy, my memory isn’t very good you know, I’m 90 something. So I can’t remember a lot of what I did when I retired,” Fletcher said. “When I was young, I rode horseback. Before I could walk, I rode horseback. … My mind doesn’t hold things very well. But anyway, I had a great life.” Fletcher comes to The Bridge four times a week. The difference between a program like this and a nursing home or assisted living facility is she goes home to family at the end of the day. For some seniors, it’s the best option. “For folks that are waiting to get into a (Pioneer Home), are waiting to get into nursing-level care, it fills that gap,” Wood said. Depending on the location, state-run Pioneer Homes screen applicants on application date and other criteria. In Juneau, it’s first-come-first-serve. In Sitka, it’s based on date and level of care. Still, the wait can sometimes be years before a space becomes available. And Juneau’s Wildflower Court, which is a nursing home, doesn’t admit clients–based on memory loss alone. So are there enough adult day programs to help fill the gap in Southeast? “No, there are not,” says Maryanne Mills, the director of Southeast Senior Services. Kelsey Wood’s “flower girl” tosses petals down the aisle. The pretend wedding was organized so clients of The Bridge could celebrate Wood’s upcoming nuptials. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO) “In fact, a couple of years ago, we worked with Centers for Community to submit a proposal to Alaska Department of Health and Social Services for a program in Sitka,” Mills said. There are only a few formalized adult day programs in the region, like Ketchikan’s Rendezvous Senior Day Services. The grant intended for Sitka wound up going to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. “And of course right now, with Alaska’s fiscal crisis, getting state general funds to start such a program is probably not going to happen in the immediate future. We trying to hold on to what we have.” Mills says keeping the doors open for adult day programs saves money when you consider the alternative. Remember, most of the people at The Bridge have some form of memory loss, which could mean expensive full-time care. So for those who do stay at home, Mills thinks the time to socialize is important. “It’s sometimes not the natural way to be,” Mills said. “A lot of people tend to isolate when they get older, but that’s not what they should be doing if they want to live a long independent life for as long as possible.” Back at The Bridge, the cozy living room atmosphere has been transformed into a pretend wedding. The seniors wear frilly corsages and sip sparkling grape juice. “People aren’t always going to remember your name, but they remember if you do something nice for them and treat them kindly,” said Kelsey Wood. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO) And after a while, Wood and her fiance are ready to walk down the aisle. She’s wearing jeans, clutching a bouquet made out of sparkling brooches — the one she’ll carry on her actual wedding day. DeeAnn Grummett and her 78-year-old husband are looking on. Grummett brings him to The Bridge four days a week. “You know I pop in and out at different times and they’re always engaged in an activity. They’re not just sitting around staring at the walls,” Grummett said. “They seem to enjoy each other’s company, and the staff is wonderful.” Both Grummett and her spouse are on the waitlist for the Pioneers’ Home, but she wants to keep him with her as long as she can. She says The Bridge plays a crucial role in helping her do that. “At this point for us, it’s much better than even in-home services because what we need is a social experience. My husband has reached the point where he can’t plan and carry out his own social life, and he needs a social life,” Grummett said. She says when she drops her husband off in the morning, and if he’s in a not-so-great-mood, he’s always feeling better by the end of the day.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1307
__label__wiki	0.972024	0.972024	U.S. Army of the future being developed in this Texas town By Sebastian Herrera sherrera@statesman.com Feb 21, 2019 at 1:26 PM Feb 21, 2019 at 1:28 PM The U.S. government’s vision for a high-tech melting pot of military officers and Austin, Texas, tech workers is finally happening. The military’s Center for Defense Innovation made its debut Thursday at Austin tech hub Capital Factory. The facility is part of the Army’s new Futures Command program, and will also include personnel from the Air Force, Department of Defense and other government organizations. The innovation center will be the primary gateway for the military to link up with and work alongside startup companies and entrepreneurs in town as it seeks to update its technology. When the Army last year chose Austin as the headquarters for its Futures Command, an operation it says will drive modernization for the U.S. military, one of its goals included having a working space at Capital Factory. The tech hub has become home to dozens of startup companies and is an integral part of Austin’s tech culture. While the Futures Command will be the most integral part of the more than 21,000 square feet of space on the eighth floor of the Omni Hotel building, the center will also house dozens of workers from innovation programs by the Army Research Labs, Air Force, Department of Defense and government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. As the teams settle in, they’ll be expected to pitch and work toward new technology projects for the military, Army Col. Patrick Seiber said. While innovation projects for vehicles, weapons and other military products will be tested throughout the nation, Seiber said, the Army is hoping many of the ideas are sparked in Austin. “Our reason to come to Austin is the draw of entrepreneurs,” Seiber said. “Now that they’ve built out the 8th floor, that’s where our presence can work alongside Capital Factory.” The Futures Command debuted in August after a months-long search for a headquarters. Army personnel said the command, the first of its kind, will be responsible for leading modernization of the military’s weapons, vehicles, equipment and other divisions. Army personnel said they picked Austin because of the numerous tech startups here, as well as access to research institutions and quality of life. While the Future Command’s headquarters is at the University of Texas System building downtown, the organization’s Capital Factory outpost provides a space in close proximity to potential startup partners, Seiber said. In addition to Booz Allen Hamilton, Seiber said, the military has started to work with Austin software startup Senseye. To date, the Futures Command has hired about 150 staff members, many of whom are civilian workers. The Army said it could eventually staff up to 500 people at the facility. Up to 60 personnel could initially be based out of the hub at Capital Factory, Seiber said. The Army is also working to start other outposts at Texas A&M University. “We’re continuing to grow our numbers,” Seiber said. With the innovation center’s opening, “we’re in a position now where we can put even more folks out here.”	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1308
__label__wiki	0.906252	0.906252	Vienna Declaration Launches Ad Campaign Calling On U.S. Presidential Candidates To End 'War On Drugs' As delegates gathered for the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) this week in Washington, D.C., “supporters of the 2010 Vienna Declaration, which urges governments to write evidence-based drug policies,” launched an ad campaign (.pdf) calling on U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney “to stop the spread of AIDS by ending the so-called ‘war on drugs,'” the Globe and Mail reports. British businessman Richard Branson; former president of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso; former president of Colombia Cesar Gaviria; Michel Kazatchkine, former executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Evan Wood, chair of the Vienna Declaration Writing Committee; and Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, among others, have endorsed the declaration and the ad, which states, “You can’t end AIDS unless you end the war on drugs. It’s dead simple,” according to the newspaper (Drews, 7/23). The Vienna Declaration, which 23,400 people have signed since it was launched as the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS conference (AIDS 2010) in Vienna, Austria, will be delivered to influential world leaders and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, according to a Vienna Declaration press release. The Drug Policy Alliance and the Vienna Declaration ran the ad in the Politico newspaper on Tuesday, the press release notes (7/23). Global Health Conferences and Meetings	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1311
__label__wiki	0.618804	0.618804	Registered Reports ESCoP Reading: Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional Special Collection: Theoretical Review with Commentaries: Visual Selection Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional Jan Theeuwes Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), NL Recently it was argued that in addition to top-down and bottom-up processes, lingering biases of selection history play a major role in visual selection (Awh, Belopolsky & Theeuwes, 2012). Since its publication there has been a growing controversy about the terms top-down, bottom-up and selection-history in relation to visual selection. In the current paper we define these terms, discuss some controversies about these terms and explain what kind of effects should be considered to be the result of lingering biases of selection history, i.e., priming, reward/fear, and statistical learning. We discuss the properties of top-down selection (slow, effortful, and controlled) versus the properties of lingering biases of selection history (fast, effortless, and automatic). We adhere the position that the experience with selecting a particular feature or the location of a feature, may boost and sharpen its representation within the priority selection map above and beyond its physical salience. It is as if the experience may render a feature or location subjectively more salient. Our message of the current review is that true top-down control of visual selection occurs far less often than what is typically assumed. Most of the time, selection is based on experience and history. It is fast, automatic and occurs without much, if any, effort. Keywords: top-down and bottom-up control , attention , selection history How to Cite: Theeuwes, J. (2018). Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional. Journal of Cognition, 1(1), 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Accepted on 01 Jan 2018 Submitted on 17 Oct 2017 “Pay attention to the road” and “ignore those billboards” are typical examples of how we try to focus our attention on relevant information and ignore information that could distract us. We all are familiar with the act of paying attention to something relevant in the visual world. Paying attention is seen as a volitional act: just as we can decide to pick up a glass, we can decide to direct our attention to a particular object in space. In some cases, however, we may find ourselves looking at a bright flashing light even though we had no intention to do so. In that case, particular properties of stimuli (salience) impinging on the retina determine selection which may not be in line with our plans, goals and intentions. The visual world we encounter in everyday life is complex and filled with a large amount of information. In order to act and behave in a goal-directed manner, we focus our limited resources on relevant information and filter out distracting information. Selective attention is the mechanism that determines what we see and act upon. Attentional selection has been considered to be the result of the interaction between intentions and the goals of the observer (current selection goals) and the physical properties of the visual environment (salience of the objects). All prominent models of attentional control have described attentional selection as the result of the interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes (Corbetta & Shulman, 2002; Itti & Koch, 2001; Theeuwes, 2010) sometimes referred as stimulus-driven and goal-driven selection (Egeth & Yantis, 1997; Ludwig & Gilchrist, 2002), exogenous and endogenous attention (Carrasco, 2011; Posner, 1978; 1980; Theeuwes, 1994a), or automatic and non-automatic control (Jonides, 1981; Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977). In a recent review, Awh, Belopolsky and Theeuwes (2012) pointed out that this classic theoretical dichotomy may no longer hold as in many cases attentional selection can neither be explained by current selection goals nor by the physical salience of potential targets. Awh et al. (2012) suggested a third category which they named “selection history” to stress that the history of attentional deployments can elicit lingering and enduring selection biases, unrelated to top-down goals or the physical salience of items. Current goals, physical salience and selection history (see Figure 1) all feed into an integrated priority map which represents a conceptual framework accounting for selection priority, i.e., which object is selected next. The competition on this topographical map of space between the input from current goals, physical salience and selection history determines, in a winner-take-all fashion, the object that ultimately will be selected. Compared to the original Figure of Awh et al. (2012), there is also a minus added to the integrated priority map as recent studies have shown that selection history (in particular statistical learning regarding the location of the distractor) can also result in inhibition within the priority map (Wang & Theeuwes, 2018, submitted-a, b; Ferrante, in press). Locations that are inhibited compete less for attention than all other locations. A schematic representation of a priority map that integrates three sources of selection bias: the observer’s current selection goals, selection history, and the physical salience of the items competing for attention (adapted from Awh et al., 2012). Even though this viewpoint of Awh et al. (2012) is shared by many others (see also Anderson, 2016; Chelazzi, Perlato, Santandrea, & Della Libera, 2013; Jiang, 2017; Todd & Manaligod, 2017, for similar ideas), the introduction of this representation has led to discussion about what is meant by top-down, by bottom-up and by history-based selection. The current paper provides a theoretical background about these terms and discusses special cases in which there seem to have been some controversies about these terms. Bottom-up attention (Physical Salience) It is generally agreed that bottom-up attention is driven by the properties of the environment. The type of control is assumed to lie outside the organism: as soon as a specific stimulus occurs, attention is immediately directed to the stimulus. Posner (1980), who labeled this “exogenous attention” explained the attentional response towards the occurrence of a particular stimulus in terms of a physiological reflex. Neumann (1984) referred to bottom-up attention as automatic processes and stated that “automatic processes are under the control of stimulation rather than under control of the intentions (strategies, expectancies, plans) of the person” (Neumann 1984, p. 258). It is agreed that bottom-up attention biases the observer towards selecting stimuli that are salient; stimuli that stand out from the environment (Itti & Koch, 2001; Theeuwes, 2010). Several computational models have stressed the role of salience in attentional selection (Itti & Koch, 2001; Itti, Koch, & Niebur, 1998). These models basically take an image as input and process the image in parallel across various feature channels using different spatial scales. The end result is a set of topographic feature maps which are then combined into a saliency map (Koch & Ullman, 1985). A paradigm that has been instrumental in the discussion about bottom-up attention is the additional singleton paradigm developed by Theeuwes in the early nineties (Theeuwes, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994b). In this task, observers search for one specific and clearly defined salient target singleton while another distractor singleton, which is more salient but irrelevant to the task, is also present. Reaction time data showed that relative to a no-distractor baseline condition, the time to find the target increased when an irrelevant singleton was present. This result was explained in terms of bottom-up attention: before observers were able to respond to the target, the irrelevant singleton summoned attention against the intentions of the observers. If observers direct attention to objects even though they are trying to do otherwise, one speaks of attentional capture (Theeuwes, 1992, 2010a). Note that when the irrelevant color distractor was made less salient, its presence had no effect on search anymore (see Theeuwes, 1992, Exp. 3). On the basis of these findings, Theeuwes argued that initial selection was fully driven by physical saliency of the stimuli. The basic findings of the additional singleton paradigm has been replicated many times using reaction time (Bacon & Egeth, 1994; Geyer et al., 2008; Kim & Cave, 1999; Kumada, 1999; Theeuwes, 2004), d-prime (Theeuwes, Kramer & Kingstone, 2004; Theeuwes & Chen, 2005), saccadic eye movements (Godijn & Theeuwes, 2002; Ludwig & Gilchrist, 2002; Mulckhuyse, Van der Stigchel, & Theeuwes, 2009; Theeuwes et al., 1998; Theeuwes et al., 1999); Event-related Potentials (ERP; Hickey, McDonald & Theeuwes, 2006; Schubo, 2009) and hand movements (Hunt, von Muhlenen, & Kingstone, 2007). When considering bottom-up attention two characteristics are important. First, bottom-up attention is fast. For example, several studies have used eye movements as the dependent measure. In these so called oculomotor capture tasks, the fastest eye movements go to the most salient element in the display (typically the distractor) while the slower eye movements go to less salient elements (typically the target) (Theeuwes et al., 1998, 1999; van Zoest, Donk & Theeuwes, 2004). Hickey, van Zoest and Theeuwes (2010) used the N2pc (an event-related potential index of (shifting) covert attention) as a dependent measure and showed that immediately following display onset, attention was directed to the salient irrelevant singleton, while slower shifts of attention were directed to the less salient target stimulus. In a study using directional manual responses using a joystick, it was shown that participants only moved the joystick to the distractor location when participants were forced to respond quickly (Hunt et al., 2007). Using a variant of the additional singleton task in monkeys showed that for the first 175 ms post-stimulus, the firing rate of neurons did not show any influence of the task set. In other words, whether a singleton was task relevant or irrelevant had no effect on the initial firing rate, suggesting that these early processes (<175 ms) are completely bottom-up (Ogawa and Komatsu, 2004). Second, bottom-up attention is involuntary. In order to ensure that bottom-up attention is truly involuntary, it is important that the goal of the observer is orthogonal to the stimulus that captures attention. In many previous studies, the location of the stimulus capturing attention was uncorrelated with the location of the target. For example, Yantis & Jonides (1990) showed when the target presented among multiple no-onset items happened to be presented with abrupt onset, observers responded faster suggesting that the stimulus presented with abrupt onset captured attention. Yet, in that type of design, in which the stimulus capturing attention is uncorrelated with the target, attending to the onset does not hurt performance (because at chance level the onsetting item is the target). A better design is when the salient event and the target location never coincide, as is done in the additional singleton paradigm. In such a paradigm, attending to a distractor is never beneficial and hurts performance, because it is never the target. Only when one uses a design in which the top-down goal is orthogonal to the capturing features, one can establish whether bottom-up attention is involuntary. Top-down attention (Current Goals) The definition of top-down attention is somewhat more ambiguous than that of bottom-up attention. Just as I can decide to pick up a glass of beer, I can decide to covertly direct my attention to the glass. Directing attention is a volitional act under control of the observer. It is important to stress the aspect of volitional control as it suggests that, at any given time, the observer is in charge of what to select. Almost all definitions about top-down control stress the aspect of volition. For example: “a slower, top-down mechanism with variable selection criteria, which directs the ‘spotlight of attention’ under cognitive, volitional control” (Itti & Koch, 2000; p. 1490); “volitional shifts of attention are thought to depend on “top-down” signals derived from knowledge about the current task (e.g., finding your lost keys)” (Buschman & Miller, 2007; p. 1860); “Attention can also be voluntarily directed to objects of current importance to the observer” (Connor, Egeth & Yantis, 2004; p. 850), “voluntary orienting can be considered aspects of top-down attentional control” (Hopfinger, Buonocore & Mangun, 2000, p. 284), “Top-down visual attention is a voluntary process in which a particular location, feature, or object relevant to current behavioral goals is selected internally and focused upon” (Katsuki & Constantinidis, 2014, p. 515) and “volitional top-down process, which can exert its influence through acts of will” (Baluch & Itti, 2011, p. 210). In this respect, we assume that top-down control is similar to “taking an overt decision” comparable to when we initiate an overt voluntary action (see Pashler, Johnston & Ruthruff, 2001). It is nothing else than my decision to “pick up a glass of beer” or to “put one leg before the other”. In this respect, it can also be my decision to direct my attention to an object that is relevant to me (e.g., a glass of beer). From a neural point of view, top-down attention results in an increased neural activity for a particular location in space that is relevant for executing a particular task relative to all other locations that are not relevant. The notion that observers are able to direct attention “at will” to a particular location in space dates back to Posner’s classic cueing tasks (Posner, Snyder & Davidson, 1980). In these studies, before display onset, observers receive a central symbolic cue (e.g., an arrow or a verbal instruction) indicating the likely location of the upcoming target (for example with 80% validity). This implies that on most trials, the central cue indicates the location where the target is likely to appear. The typical finding in these type of experiments is that observers are faster and more accurate when the target appears at the cued location than when it occurred at the non-cued location (see also Theeuwes, 1989). The interpretation of these results is that on each trial, observers use the cue to voluntarily direct spatial attention to the location indicated by the cue. It is important to realize that in these types of experiments, the location indicated by the cue varies randomly from trial to trial, which implies that on each trial, observers shift attention to the indicated location at will. Therefore, the endogenous Posner cueing task is one of the most prominent examples of top-down attention that is truly volitional. Being volitional, under voluntary control is seen as one of the most important aspects of top-down attention. Some have claimed however that orienting in response to centrally presented arrow (as was originally done by Posner, 1980) is not necessarily top-down as an arrow pointing to a location in space has properties that evokes automatic orienting to the location indicated by the arrow (e.g., Ristic & Kingstone, 2006). Even though this may be the case when using arrows, there have been other ways to direct attention to a location in space which cannot be automatic. For example, Theeuwes and Van der Burg (2007, Experiment 1) presented as a central cue, a number which represented the hand of a conventional clock (e.g., the number 9 represented a location to the left of fixation, the number 12 the top location). With these arbitrary cues, Theeuwes and Van der Burg showed large validity effects of the cue on d-prime suggesting that, on each trial, participants intentionally directed their attention to one of the 12 locations in the display. Crucially, this location varied from trial to trial and observers were perfectly able to do it suggesting true volitional top-down attentional control. A second characteristic of top-down control is that it is relatively slow. It takes time to implement top-down processes that allow a volitional guidance of attention. Shifts of pure endogenous attention in response to a centrally presented verbal cue as in the Posner cueing tasks take about 200 to 300 ms (Müller & Rabbitt, 1989) whereas exogenous shifts to peripheral onsets only take about 100 ms (Nakayama & Mackeben, 1989). It is generally assumed that top-down attention is slow because information from higher cortical areas needs to be sent to earlier areas in order to guide attentional control. Selection History (Experience-Based Selection) As noted in addition to top-down and bottom-up attention, Awh et al. (2012) suggested a new category which was labelled “selection history”. The underlying notion is that attention is often deployed in a way that is neither consistent with the top-down goals of the observer, nor is it driven by salient stimuli impinging on the retina. In addition to top-down and bottom-up control, these lingering biases due to selection history affect the integrated priority map (see Figure 1). The underlying notion of what is meant by selection history is that through (explicit or implicit) learning (i.e., processes shaped by past episodes of attentional selection), particular stimuli may receive “value” that affects future selection episode above and beyond top-down and bottom-up factors. Currently, there are three broad classes of phenomena, that are related to lingering biases due to selection history (for a complete review, see Failing and Theeuwes, 2017). 1. Priming When a stimulus (feature) is repeatedly attended in the previous trial, it is more efficiently selected and identified on the current trial. Maljkovich and Nakayama (1994), for example, demonstrated the influence of priming in the context of a search task (see also Hillstrom, 2000; Olivers & Humphreys, 2003). Priming between trials, or intertrial priming, occurred for up to eight successive trials, even when participants were unware of repetitions (Maljkovich & Nakayama, 2000), or when they were informed that the target was unlikely to be same between trials (Maljkovich & Nakayama, 1994). Overall, priming is considered to be low-level facilitatory effect on perceptual processing and is determined by traces of past selection history (Kristjansson, 2010; Kristjánsson & Campana, 2010; Lamy & Kristjansson, 2013; Theeuwes & Van der Burg, 2007, 2011; Theeuwes, 2013; Theeuwes, Reimann, & Mortier, 2006). Hickey Chelazzi and Theeuwes (2010) also demonstrated the automatic nature of priming. In their study, when participants received a high reward, and on the next trial they had to search a target with the same color, they were faster than when the colors switched. Crucial for the present discussion however, is that in a follow-up experiment, participants were told that whenever a high reward was received, the colors associated with the target and the distractor would switch. In other words, if the target were red, and participants received a high reward they knew that in 80% of the trials, the color of the target on the next trial would be green. Even though it was detrimental to search and reward payout, participants could not switch their color set: they remained biased towards the color that gave high reward even though they knew that it would have been beneficial to switch to the other color. In a study by Theeuwes and Van der Burg (2013) it was shown why primed stimuli may draw attention. In their study, observers performed two tasks (temporal order judgment task (TOJ) and simultaneity judgement task (SJ)) in which observers had to determine the order in which two test stimuli were presented. For both tasks, the stimulus that was primed was seen earlier in time than a non-primed equally salient stimulus. It was concluded that through priming, one of the stimuli became more salient which accelerated its processing and thus caused prior entry into awareness. Priming is an important driver of attentional selection and should not be mistaken for what has been called response priming, a selection bias that is the result of the buildup of automatic associations between stimuli and response tendencies. In all priming studies discussed (e.g., Maljkovic and Nakayama, 1994; Pinto et al., 2005; Theeuwes et al., 2006; Theeuwes & Van der Burg, 2007) the response of the participant is unrelated to what they are searching for. In this sense priming represents the efficiency with which the target can be selected; not the speed with which the response can be emitted (see Theeuwes and Van der Burg, 2007, 2011). 2. Reward/Acquired fear Several studies have demonstrated that a stimulus can acquire value after it has been associated with reward during a training session (Anderson et al., 2011a, b; Bucker & Theeuwes, 2014; Della Libera & Chelazzi, 2006, 2009; Failing & Theeuwes, 2014, 2015, 2017; for a recent review see Failing & Theeuwes, in press). Crucially, this bias in attention occurs even when the stimulus is non-salient, task irrelevant and no longer predicts reward (Anderson, 2011b). The basic finding in all these studies is that a distractor stimulus that is associated with reward captures attention even when observers are instructed to search for the target. In other words, capture occurs independent of the top-down set of the observer. Crucially, this value-driven attentional capture is determined by the rate of learning as participants who demonstrated faster learning showed larger capture by the previously high rewarded stimulus during the test session (Jahfari & Theeuwes, 2017). Other studies have demonstrated that a neutral stimulus can acquire value after it has been associated with fear (Schmidt et al., 2015, 2017; Preciado et al., 2017; Mulckhuyse & Dalmaijer, 2016). By means of fear conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with the delivery of an aversive event, such as an electric shock (CS+) while another stimulus is associated with no shock (CS–). As a consequence of this procedure, the fear-conditioned stimulus (CS+) captures attention more strongly than equally salient non-conditioned stimuli (CS–) (Mulckhuyse, Crombez & Van der Stigchel, 2013; Mulckhuyse & Dalmaijer, 2016; Schmidt et al., 2015, 2017) and biases attention such that the efficacy of sensory processing (measured in d-prime) is enhanced (Preciado, Munneke & Theeuwes, 2016). Also, threat signaling stimuli do not only capture attention, they can also capture the eyes (Nissens, Failing & Theeuwes, 2016) above and beyond physical salience (see also Hopkins et al., 2016 in which observers were not aware of the contingencies). 3. Statistical learning It is well known that contextual information containing invariant properties of the visual environment can bias visual attention. Sensitivity to these statistical regularities makes it possible to interact more effectively with the visual world (Chun & Jiang, 1998). Several previous studies have focused on how statistical regularities regarding the target can bias selection. For example, the efficiency of finding the target can be improved when the target consistently appears at specific locations in previously seen displays relative to random locations (Chun & Jiang, 1999). Geng and Behrmann (2005) showed that targets presented in high probability locations are detected faster than those in low probability locations (see also Jiang, Swallow, Rosenbaum, & Herzig, 2013). Even though important, these findings may not be surprising because the target is task relevant and it is well-known that observers are capable of directing spatial attention to locations in space that are likely to contain a target (e.g., Posner, 1980). Crucially however, recent studies have shown that statistical learning regarding items that are not relevant for the task (i.e., the location of the distractors) have a strong effect on attentional selection. For example, using the additional singleton paradigm, Wang and Theeuwes (2018) demonstrated that statistical regularities regarding the distractor location had a strong effect on attention (see also Ferrante et al., in press for a similar result). In Wang and Theeuwes, participants searched for a salient shape singleton while ignoring a color distractor singleton. Crucially, the color distractor singleton was presented systematically more often in one location than in all other locations. For this high-probability location, Wang and Theeuwes found that both attentional capture was reduced when the distractor appeared at the high probability location and selection of the target was less efficient when it happened to appear at this location. Crucially, most participants were not aware of the statistical regularities even though search was biased away from these high probability distractor locations (see also Zhao, Al-Aidroos, & Turk-Brown, 2013; Wang & Theeuwes, submitted-b). Our notion is that statistical learning can induce plasticity with the spatial priority map such that locations that are likely to contain a target are boosted (“plus” sign in Figure 1) and locations that are likely to contain a distractor are inhibited (“minus” sign in Figure 1). The claim of inhibition or distractor suppression resembles a recent account referred to as the “signal suppression” hypothesis stating that through active inhibition it is possible to avoid capture by salient signals (Gaspelin and Luck, 2018). Crucially however while Gaspelin and Luck (2018) argue that this inhibition is top-down in nature, we claim that inhibition is solely driven by statistical learning. Since the publication of the Awh et al., paper, there have been some discussion about whether particular effects should be labeled as bottom-up, top-down or experienced-based (see Klein, 2017). Here we discuss some of the issues that have led to these discussions. 1. If it is not bottom-up, it must be top-down Because many researchers adhere the classic dichotomy between bottom-up and top-down control, some have argued that if it is not bottom-up, by definition it has to be top-down. As there is general consensus that bottom-up attention is driven by the physical properties of external stimuli, all processes that are not due to external stimulation must by definition be top-down. For example, Wolfe, Butcher, Lee & Hyle (2003) argued that priming is an example of top-down control. They reasoned that is has to be top-down because priming is not in the stimulus: “if we define top-down as guidance of attention by the observer’s knowledge and bottom-up as guidance of attention by the properties of the stimulus, largely independent of that knowledge, then the taxonomy changes. Explicit instruction is clearly top-down, but so is implicit knowledge (whether reliable or not)” (p. 499). Whether it is implicit or explicit is not immediately relevant for the present discussion. However, what is relevant is that this type of top-down control does not concur with the definitions of what is typically considered to be top-down control. That is, it is neither volitional nor voluntary. It is clear that what has been described by Wolfe et al. (2003) as top-down is a first-class example of the effect of selection history, not malleable by top-down control (see also Failing & Theeuwes, in press for a review). 2. Knowing the target guides search in a top-down way A classic approach to demonstrate top-down guidance of attention is to manipulate whether or not participants know in advance the features of the target they have to search for. A typical method is to have participants search a whole block for one color singleton and another block for a shape singleton. These conditions are then compared to a mixed block in which the target is either (random from trial to trial) a color or a shape singleton creating a condition in which, on each trial, observers do not know the target features they need to search for. With this type of design, Treisman (1988) showed that knowing the dimension of the target (whether it is a color or shape singleton) speeded search by about 100 ms. This was interpreted as evidence for top-down search for feature dimensions. Similar experiments resulting in similar conclusions were conducted, among others, by Found and Muller, (1996), Müller, Heller, and Ziegler (1995) and Wolfe et al. (2003). Even though intuitively this approach seems valid, with these designs it is impossible to determine whether the effects are top-down knowledge-based or merely the result of passive priming (Maljokovic & Nakayama, 1994). Experiments using blocked versus mixed conditions introduce differential intertrial effects and these are considered to be bottom-up in nature (see also Müller et al., 2003 for a similar argument). To make this more explicit: by using a block design in which the target remains the same throughout a whole block of trials, one not only manipulates foreknowledge about the target (which is a top-down set) but one also introduces massive inter-trial priming in which the target of the previous trial primes the target of the current trial. This latter effect is large (e.g., up to 100 ms, see Treisman, 1988) and has nothing to do with top-down processing. All studies that have used a block design (in which the target remains constant throughout a block of trials) to demonstrate how top-down set affects target selection are in this respect invalid (e.g., Müller et al., 1995; Wolfe et al., 2003) as they only have shown that there is intertrial priming. To determine whether there is true top-down volitional guidance, one has to demonstrate its volitional nature implying that one should change the top-down set on a trial-by-trial basis (e.g., one trial search for red, on the next search for green). In other words, one needs to cue on each trial, the feature of the target that participants have to search for. For example, Theeuwes et al. (2006) cued on each trial with 80% validity, the target (search for a shape singleton, or search for color singleton). They showed no cue validity effects under these conditions: the time to find the target did not differ between valid and invalid cue conditions. It was concluded that expectancy-based, top-down knowledge induced by a cue cannot guide the search process. If anything, the cue had only an effect on post-selection processes, i.e., observers were faster to respond after they had selected the target (see Mortier, Theeuwes & Starreveld, 2005). 3. Voluntary, bottom-up control One of the ideas that has been very influential is the notion that bottom-up control is never truly driven by the properties of the environment but always depends on the top-down set of the observer. This notion of voluntary, bottom-up control is known as contingent capture (Folk, Johnston & Remington, 1992). The basic idea is that observers only get captured by a particular stimulus feature (for example a red singleton) when observers are looking for red items. If they are looking for other features (say a singleton presented with abrupt onset) they completely ignore the color singleton. This implies that bottom-up capture is never a “reflex-like” response as originally assumed by Posner (1980) but always dependent on the state of the observer. The original contingent capture finding has been replicated many times, but interestingly enough a crucial aspect of the contingent capture design has always been overlooked. In almost all studies investigating contingent capture, observers are instructed to search for a particular feature singleton (say a color singleton) throughout a whole block of trials. In other words, during the whole block, observers search for color singletons while ignoring abrupt onset singletons. This implies that there will be strong inter-trial effects which in principle have nothing to do with the idea of contingent (top-down) capture (see previous section). If capture is truly contingent on the top-down set of the observer, one should be able to adjust this top-down set on a trial-by-trial basis in a truly voluntary, volitional way. Remember that this is one of the definitions of top-down control. Belopolsky et al. (2010) did exactly this. They used the same spatial cueing paradigm as Folk et al. (1992), but instead of keeping the target fixed over a whole block of trials (as was originally done with contingent capture experiments), observers needed to adopt their top-down set on the basis of information of a cue presented before the start of each trial. If this capture is truly contingent on top-down set, one expects that only properties that match the cued top-down set would capture attention. Belopolsky et al. showed that even though participants knew what the target would be on the upcoming trial, the irrelevant feature that was not part of the task set also captured attention. There was no evidence for contingent capture: attention was captured in the same amount by relevant and irrelevant singletons. To account for this unexpected result, proponents of contingent capture argued that a top-down set can never be adjusted on a trial-by-trial basis but that one always needs a few trials to “get into the top-down set”. Even though viable, this reasoning basically refutes the idea that true top-down control is even possible and in fact indicates that one needs “selection history” (e.g., “a few trials to get into the top-down set”) to obtain contingent capture like effects. There has been, however, one study that claimed volitional “contingent capture” control on a trial-by-trial basis. Lien, Ruthruff, and Johnston (2010) used a version of the spatial cueing paradigm of Folk et al. (1992) and cued the color of the upcoming target singleton (i.e., the letter “R” for red and “G” for green) at the center of the display. In one of their experiments, the color to search varied randomly from trial to trial showing a cue validity effect even when the color to look for switched from one trial to the next. This led the authors to conclude that top-down set could be applied in a highly flexible way. Even though on the face of it this seems reasonable, it should be noted that Lien et al. used a spatial cueing paradigm in which selectivity was determined on the basis of cue validity effects. It is likely that the crucial validity effect was primarily driven by the invalid cue conditions resulting from difficulties in disengaging attention from the invalid location since the element at this location had the same color as the target on the previous trial giving rise to inter-trial priming (see also Belopolsky et al., 2010; Theeuwes 2010b for a similar argument). In addition, Lien et al. used only four elements in the display, two of which were color singletons, rendering both singletons non-salient (see also Theeuwes & Van der Burg, 2011). What are the differences between top-down and history-based selection? We only summarize the most important differences between top-down and history-based selection, because there is little dispute over the characteristics of bottom-up selection. 1. Slow versus fast On any given trial, top-down selection is relatively slow, while history-based selection is relatively fast. Faster selection has been shown with studies using reward (Anderson et al., 2011b), statistical learning (Wang & Theeuwes, 2018), priming (Theeuwes & Van der Burg, 2013) and acquired fear (Nissens, Failing & Theeuwes, 2017). Eye movement studies clearly demonstrated the dissociation between fast history-based saccades and relatively slow, top-down saccades (Failing et al., 2015; Nissens et al., 2016; Le Pelley, et al., 2015). Note however, that it should be noted that some studies have reported eye movements that were relatively fast and top-down in origin (Hollingworth, Matsukura & Luck, 2013; Gaspelin, Leonard, & Luck, 2017). 2. Automatic versus controlled Top-down selection is controlling and shifting attention “at will” through space (Posner, 1978, 1980), whereas history-based selection is automatic and basically occurs even when observers try to counteract these effects (Hickey, Chelazzi & Theeuwes, 2010; Theeuwes et al., 2006). Related to this point is that top-down selection is flexible (e.g., can be changed on each trial) while history-based selection is an attentional bias (a bias often unknown to the observer) that cannot be changed in a top-down way. This type of selection has been referred to as “habitual attention” (see Jiang, 2017 for a review). 3. Effortless and effortful Top-down selection requires effort to shift attention. Take for example a Posner cueing task in which a verbal cue points to the likely location of the target; if observers do not actively use and interpret this cue to direct their attention, no top-down cueing effect will be seen. Contrary to this, history-based selection occurs without any effort on part of the observer. In fact, effects of history based selection occur without observers even being aware of stimulus-reward associations (Anderson, 2015; Pearson, Donkin, Tran, Most & Le Pelley, 2015; Le Pelley et al., 2015) stimulus-punishment associations (Hopkins et al., 2016), or statistical regularities in the display (Wang & Theeuwes, 2018; Zhao et al., 2013; Ferrante et al., in press). The underlying mechanism of selection history based effects It is interesting from the analyses above that the properties of history-based selection biases are very similar to bottom-up effects. Just like bottom-up effects, they are fast, automatic, effortless and occur even when observers try to counteract them in a top-down way. For example, a stimulus which acquired value after it was associated with reward continues to capture attention even when observers try to select the target (see Failing & Theeuwes, in press). The continued capture by the stimulus associated with reward implies that top-down set cannot overcome these distraction effects that are very similar to bottom-up saliency capture effects as found with the additional singleton paradigm (Theeuwes, 1991, 1992). However, unlike classic bottom-up effects which are exclusively driven by the salience, selection-history effects occur even when the stimulus associated with reward or punishment is non-salient (Anderson et al., 2011b; Failing & Theeuwes, 2014; Failing et al., 2015; Nissens et al., 2016). To account for selection history based effects on attention, we assume that the experience with a particular feature (Theeuwes & van der Burg, 2013) or the location of a feature (Wang & Theeuwes, 2018; Ferrante et al., in press) changes its representation within the priority map. In addition to actual physical salience, we adhere to the position that experience with a feature may boost its representation above and beyond its physical salience. For example, intertrial priming may change the salience of a stimulus. Desimone (1996) argued that repeatedly processing a stimulus produces what was called a “sharpening” of its cortical representation, possibly making it more salient within its environment. Bichot and Schall (2002) showed that repeating a stimulus changes responses of neurons in the frontal eye field, a region that has been implicated to be the neural substrate of the salience map (Thompson & Bichot, 2005). Olivers and Hickey (2010) showed that intertrial priming results in latency shifts and amplitude differences in the P1 component of the ERP signal—a signal that is seen 80 to 130 ms following display onset. Clearly an effect so early in time resembles bottom-up like effects. Failing and Theeuwes (2016) showed that reward affects the subjective perception of time. Participants performed temporal oddball task and the results showed that stimuli were perceived to last longer when they signaled a relatively high reward compared to when they signaled no or low reward. Failing and Theeuwes (2016) argued that a stimulus signaling reward is subjectively more salient thereby modulating its attentional deployment and distorting how it is perceived in time. Hickey et al. (2010) concluded that the association with reward changes the representation of a stimulus in early visual areas such that it appears to be more salient than stimuli that have the same physical salience but are not associated with reward. This notion is consistent with the “incentive salience hypothesis” of Berridge and Robinson (1998) which proposes that reward-conditioned stimuli may become salient and attention-drawing because the association with reward changes its perceptual representation (see also Todd & Malanigod, in press) Schneider and Shiffrin. The similarity between bottom-up control and selection history is also evident in the classic work of (Schneider and Shiffrin 1977; Shiffrin and Schneider, 1977). In their view, an automatic process represents the activation of a sequence of nodes that “nearly always becomes active in response to a particular input configuration,” and that “is activated automatically without the necessity for active control or attention by the subject” (p. 2). Once the activation is started, the process runs off without the possibility to control it. Shiffrin and Schneider (1977, Experiment 4d) trained observers in a consistently mapped (CM) search task in which observers search for digits among letters. After training, observers had to search for target letters along one diagonal while ignoring items presented along the other diagonal. The results showed that if digits (i.e., former targets) were presented on the-to-be-ignored diagonal they captured attention automatically, even if observers tried to do otherwise. The CM training is a prime example of how selection history biases attention such that, after extensive training, digits presented among letters started to pop out, just like bottom-up capture of a red poppy in a green field. According to Shiffrin and Schneider (1977) controlled (non-automatic) processes are under the control of the person and are established intentionally and volitionally by the person, the same conception regarding top-down control as is adhered to here. The model of Awh et al., as displayed in Figure 1, recognizes three selection biases feeding into the integrated priority map. Our message of the current review is that true top-down control of visual selection occurs far less often than what is typically assumed. Most of the time, selection is based on experience and history. This type of selection is fast, automatic and occurs without much effort. Even though this view may appear to be extreme, it fits with the notion that in general, behavior is not controlled in a volitional way, i.e., by actively choosing and controlling actions. Bargh and Chartrand (1999) indicated in their review that our ability to exercise intentional control is in fact quite limited despite the fact that “much of contemporary psychological research is based on the assumption that people are consciously and systematically processing incoming information in order to construe and interpret their world and to plan and engage in courses of action” (p. 462). As stated by William James in his seminal book The Principles of Psychology “each of us literally chooses, by his ways of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear himself to inhabit” James, 1890, p. 424 (James, 1890). It will be clear by now that visual selection as conceived here may not be a deliberate choice as James has put it. Instead “what sort of universe he shall appear himself to inhabit” is maybe not a choice but the consequence of our experiences creating a universe that is automatically forced upon us. Data Accessibility Statement The author has no data accessibility statement to declare. This work was supported by an ERC advanced grant under grant number ERC-2012-AdG – 323413 awarded to Jan Theeuwes. We would like to thank Nick Gaspelin and two anonymous reviewers for their excellent comments and suggestions. The author has no competing interests to declare. Anderson, B. A. (2015). Value-driven attentional capture is modulated by spatial context. Visual Cognition, 23, 67–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2014.956851 Anderson, B. A. (2016). The attention habit: How reward learning shapes attentional selection. Annals of New York Academy Sciences, 1369(1), 24–39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12957 Anderson, B. A., Laurent, P. A., & Yantis, S. (2011a). Learned value magnifies salience-based attentional capture. PLoS One, 6(11), e27926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027926 Anderson, B. A., Laurent, P. A., & Yantis, S. (2011b). Value-driven attentional capture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(25), 10367–10371. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1104047108 Awh, E., Belopolsky, A., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: a failed theoretical dichotomy. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(8), 437–443. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.010 Bacon, W. F., & Egeth, H. E. (1994). Overriding stimulus-driven attentional capture. Perception & Psychophysics, 55, 485–496. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205306 Baluch, F., & Itti, L. (2011). Mechanisms of top-down attention. Trends in Neurosciences, 34, 210–224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2011.02.003 Bargh, J. A., & Chartrand, T. L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 54(7), 462–479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.462 Belopolsky, A. V., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2010). What is top-down about contingent capture? Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 72(2), 326–341. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.2.326 Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (1998). What is the role of dopamine in reward: hedonic impact, reward learning, or incentive salience? Brain Research Reviews, 28(3), 309–369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0173(98)00019-8 Bichot, N. P., & Schall, J. D. (2002). Priming in macaque frontal cortex during popout visual search: Feature-based facilitation and location-based inhibition of return. Journal of Neuroscience, 22, 4675–4685. Bucker, B., & Theeuwes, J. (2014). The effect of reward on orienting and reorienting in exogenous cuing. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 14(2), 635–646. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0278-7 Buschman, T. J., & Miller, E. K. (2007). Top-down versus bottom-up control of attention in the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices. Science, 315, 1860–2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1138071 Carrasco, M. (2011). Visual Attention: The past 25 years. Vision Research, 51, 1484–1525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2011.04.012 Chelazzi, L., Perlato, A., Santandrea, E., & Della Libera, C. (2013). Rewards teach visual selective attention. Vision Research, 85, 58–72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2012.12.005 Chun, M. M., & Jiang, Y. (1998). Contextual cueing: Implicit learning and memory of visual context guides spatial attention. Cognitive Psychology, 36(1), 28–71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1998.0681 Connor, C. E., Egeth, H. E., & Yantis, S. (2004). Visual attention: Bottom-up versus top-down. Current Biology, 14(19), R850–R852. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2004.09.041 Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(3), 201–215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn755 Della Libera, C., & Chelazzi, L. (2006). Visual selective attention and the effects of monetary rewards. Psychological Science, 17(3), 222–227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01689.x Della Libera, C., & Chelazzi, L. (2009). Learning to attend and to ignore is a matter of gains and losses. Psychological Science, 20(6), 778–784. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02360.x Desimone, R. (1996). Neural mechanisms for visual memory and their role in attention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 93, 13494–13499. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.93.24.13494 Egeth, H. E., & Yantis, S. (1997). Visual attention: Control, representation, and time course. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 269–297. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.269 Failing, M. F., & Theeuwes, J. (2014). Exogenous visual orienting by reward. Journal of Vision, 14(5), 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/14.5.6 Failing, M. F., & Theeuwes, J. (2015). Nonspatial Attentional Capture by Previously Rewarded Scene Semantics. Visual Cognition, 23(1–2), 82–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2014.990546 Failing, M., Nissens, T., Pearson, D., Le Pelley, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2015). Oculomotor capture by stimuli that signal the availability of reward. Journal of Neurophysiology, 114(4), 2316–2327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00441.2015 Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2016). Reward alters the perception of time. Cognition, 148, 19–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.12.005 Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2017). Don’t let it distract you: How information about the availability of reward affects attentional selection. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-017-1376-8 Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (in press). Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-017-1380-y Ferrante, O., Patacca, A., Di Caro, V., Della Libera, C., Santandrea, E., & Chelazzi, L. (in press). Alternating spatial priority maps via statistical learning of target selection and distractor filtering. Cortex. Folk, C. L., Remington, R. W., & Johnston, J. C. (1992). Involuntary Covert Orienting Is Contingent on Attentional Control Settings. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 18(4), 1030–1044. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.18.4.1030 Gaspelin, N., Leonard, C. J., & Luck, S. J. (2017). Suppression of overt attentional capture by salient-but-irrelevant color singletons. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 79(1), 45–62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-016-1209-1 Gaspelin, N., & Luck, S. J. (2018). The role of inhibition in avoiding distraction by salient stimuli. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22(1), 79–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.11.001 Geng, J. J., & Behrmann, M. (2005). Spatial probability as an attentional cue in visual search. Perception and Psychophysics, 67, 1252–1268. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193557 Geyer, T., Muller, H. J., & Krummenacher, J. (2008). Expectancies modulate attentional capture by salient color singletons. Vision Research, 48(11), 1315–1326. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2008.02.006 Godijn, R., & Theeuwes, J. (2002). Programming of endogenous and exogenous saccades: Evidence for a competitive integration model. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 28(5), 1039–1054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.28.5.1039 Hickey, C., Chelazzi, L., & Theeuwes, J. (2010). Reward Changes Salience in Human Vision via the Anterior Cingulate. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(33), 11096–11103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1026-10.2010 Hickey, C., McDonald, J. J., & Theeuwes, J. (2006). Electrophysiological evidence of the capture of visual attention. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 604–613. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2006.18.4.604 Hickey, C., van Zoest, W., & Theeuwes, J. (2010). The time course of exogenous and endogenous control of covert attention. Experimental Brain Research, 201(4), 789–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-009-2094-9 Hillstrom, A. P. (2000). Repetition effects in visual search. Perception & Psychophysics, 62, 800–817. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206924 Hollingworth, A., Matsukura, M., & Luck, S. J. (2013). Visual Working Memory Modulates Rapid Eye Movements to Simple Onset Targets. Psychological Science, 24(5), 790–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612459767 Hopkins, L. S., Helmstetter, F. J., & Hannula, D. E. (2016). Eye Movements are Captured by a Perceptually Simple Conditioned Stimulus in the Absence of Explicit Contingency Knowledge. Emotion. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000206 Hopfinger, J. B., Buonocore, M. H., & Mangun, G. R. (2000). The neural mechanisms of top-down attentional control. Nature Neuroscience, 3, 284–291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/72999 Hunt, A. R., von Muhlenen, A., & Kingstone, A. (2007). The time course of attentional and oculomotor capture reveals a common cause. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 33(2), 271–284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.33.2.271 Itti, L., & Koch, C. (2001). Computational modelling of visual attention. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2(3), 194–203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35058500 Itti, L., Koch, C., & Niebur, E. (1998). A model of saliency-based visual-attention for rapid scene analysis. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 20, 1254–1259. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/34.730558 Jahfari, S., & Theeuwes, J. (2017). Sensitivity to value-driven attention is predicted by how we learn from value. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1106-6 James, W. (1890). The principles of Psychology. London: MacMillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/11059-000 Jiang, Y. V. (2017). Habitual versus goal-driven attention. Cortex. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.06.018 Jiang, Y. V., Swallow, K. M., Rosenbaum, G. M., & Herzig, C. (2013). Rapid acquisition but slow extinction of an attentional bias in space. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 39, 87–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027611 Jonides, J. (1981). Voluntary versus automatic control over the mind’s eye. In: Long, J., & Baddeley, A. (Eds.), Attention and performance, IX, 187–203. Hillsdale, N. J: Erlbaum. Katsuki, F., & Constantinidis, C. (2014). Bottom-up and top-down attention: different processes and overlapping neural systems. Neuroscientist, 20(5), 509–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858413514136 Kim, M. S., & Cave, K. R. (1999). Top-down and bottom-up attentional control: On the nature of interference from a salient distractor. Perception & Psychophysics, 61, 1009–1023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207609 Klein, R. M. (2017). Psychonomics in Boston: A debate about types of orienting. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 79, 1–2. Koch, C., & Ullman, S. (1985). Shifts in selective visual attention: Towards the underlying neural circuitry. Human Neurobiology, 4, 219–227. Kristjansson, A. (2010). Priming in visual search: A spanner in the works for Theeuwes’s bottom-up attention sweeps? Acta Psychologica, 135(2), 114–116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.05.001 Kristjánsson, Á., & Campana, G. (2010). Where perception meets memory: A review of repetition priming in visual search tasks. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(1), 5–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.1.5 Kumada, T. (1999). Limitations in attending to a feature value for overriding stimulus-driven interference. Perception & Psychophysics, 61, 61–79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211949 Lamy, D. F., & Kristjánsson, Á. (2013). Is goal-directed attentional guidance just intertrial priming? A review. Journal of Vision, 13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/13.3.14 Le Pelley, M. E., Pearson, D., Griffiths, O., & Beesley, T. (2015). When goals conflict with values: Counterproductive attentional and oculomotor capture by reward-related stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(1), 158–171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000037 Lien, M.-C., Ruthruff, E., & Johnston, J. C. (2010). Attentional capture with rapidly changing attentional control settings. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 36, 1–16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015875 Ludwig, C. J. H., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2002). Stimulus-driven and goal-driven control over visual selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28, 902–912. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.28.4.902 Maljkovic, V., & Nakayama, K. (1994). Priming of pop-out: I. Role of features. Memory & Cognition, 22(6), 657–672. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209251 Maljkovic, V., & Nakayama, K. (2000). Priming of pop-out: III. A short-term implicit memory system beneficial for rapid target selection. Visual Cognition, 7, 571–595. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/135062800407202 Mortier, K., Theeuwes, J., & Starreveld, P. (2005). Response selection modulates visual search within and across dimensions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31, 542–557. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.31.3.542 Mulckhuyse, M., Crombez, G., & Van der Stigchel, S. (2013). Conditioned fear modulates visual selection. Emotion, 13(3), 529–536. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031076 Mulckhuyse, M., & Dalmaijer, E. S. (2016). Distracted by danger: Temporal and spatial dynamics of visual selection in the presence of threat. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 16(2), 315–324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-015-0391-2 Mulckhuyse, M., Van der Stigchel, S., & Theeuwes, J. (2009). Early and Late Modulation of Saccade Deviations by Target Distractor Similarity. Journal of Neurophysiology, 102(3), 1451–1458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00068.2009 Müller, H. J., Heller, D., & Ziegler, J. (1995). Visual search for singleton feature targets within and across feature dimensions. Perception & Psychophysics, 57, 1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211845 Müller, H. J., & Rabbitt, P. M. A. (1989). Reflexive and voluntary orienting of visual attention: Time course of activation and resistance to interruption. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 15, 315–330. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.15.2.315 Müller, H. J., Reimann, B., & Krummenacher, J. (2003). Visual search for singleton feature targets across dimensions: Stimulus and expectancy-driven effects in dimensional weighing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29, 1021–1035. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.29.5.1021 Nakayama, K., & Mackeben, M. (1989). Sustained and transient components of focal visual attention. Vision Res, 29, 1631–1647. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(89)90144-2 Neumann, O. (1984). Automatic processing: A review of recent findings and a plea for an old theory. In: Prinz, W., & Sanders, A. F. (Eds.), Cognition and Motor Processes, 255–290. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69382-3_17 Nissens, T., Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2016). People look at the object they fear: Oculomotor capture by stimuli that signal threat. Cognition and Emotion, 1–8. Ogawa, T., & Komatsu, H. (2004). Target selection in area V4 during a multidimensional visual search task. Journal of Neuroscience, 24(28), 6371–6382. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0569-04.2004 Olivers, C. N. L., & Hickey, C. (2010). Priming resolves perceptual ambiguity in visual search: evidence from behaviour and electrophysiology. Vision Research, 50(14), 1362–1371. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2009.11.022 Olivers, C. N. L., & Humphreys, G. W. (2003). Visual marking inhibits singleton capture. Cognitive Psychology, 47, 1–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0285(03)00003-3 Pashler, H., Johnston, J., & Ruthruff, E. (2001). Attention and Performance. In: Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 629–651. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.629 Pearson, D., Donkin, C., Tran, S. C., Most, S. B., & Le Pelley, M. E. (2015). Cognitive control and counterproductive oculomotor capture by reward-related stimuli. Visual Cognition, 23(1–2), 41–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2014.994252 Pinto, Y., Olivers, C. N. L., & Theeuwes, J. (2005). Target uncertainty does not lead to more distraction by singletons: intertrial priming does. Perception & Psychophysics, 67(8), 1354–1361. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193640 Posner, M. I. (1978). Chronometric explorations of mind. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum. Posner, M. I. (1980). Orienting of Attention, The VIIth Sir Frederic Bartlett Lecture. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3–25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00335558008248231 Posner, M. I., Davidson, B. J., & Snyder, C. R. R. (1980). Attention and the detection of signals. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 109, 160–174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.109.2.160 Preciado, D., Munneke, J., & Theeuwes, J. (2016). Was That a Threat? Attentional biases by signals of threat. Emotion, 16(8). Ristic, J., & Kingstone, A. (2006). Attention to arrows: Pointing to a new direction. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59, 1921–1930. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210500416367 Schmidt, L. J., Belopolsky, A. V., & Theeuwes, J. (2015). Attentional capture by signals of threat. Cognition & Emotion, 15, 329–334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000041 Schmidt, L. J., Belopolsky, A. V., & Theeuwes, J. (2017). The time course of attentional bias to cues of threat and safety. Cognition and Emotion, 31(5), 845–857. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2016.1169998 Schneider, W., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1977). Controlled and Automatic Human Information Processing: I. Detection, Search, and Attention. Psychological Review, 84, 1–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.1.1 Schubo, A. (2009). Salience detection and attentional capture. Psychological Research-Psychologische Forschung, 73(2), 233–243. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-008-0215-x Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84(3), 127–190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.127 Theeuwes, J. (1989). Effects of Location and Form Cueing on the Allocation of Attention in the Visual-Field. Acta Psychologica, 72(2), 177–192. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(89)90043-7 Theeuwes, J. (1990). Perceptual Selectivity Is Task Dependent – Evidence from Selective Search. Acta Psychologica, 74(1), 81–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(90)90036-F Theeuwes, J. (1991). Cross-Dimensional Perceptual Selectivity. Perception & Psychophysics, 50(2), 184–193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212219 Theeuwes, J. (1992). Perceptual Selectivity for Color and Form. Perception & Psychophysics, 51(6), 599–606. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211656 Theeuwes, J. (1994a). Endogenous and Exogenous Control of Visual Selection. Perception, 23(4), 429–440. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/p230429 Theeuwes, J. (1994b). Stimulus-Driven Capture and Attentional Set – Selective Search for Color and Visual Abrupt Onsets. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 20(4), 799–806. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.20.4.799 Theeuwes, J. (2004). Top-down search strategies cannot override attentional capture. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(1), 65–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206462 Theeuwes, J. (2010). Top-down and bottom-up control of visual selection. Acta Psychologica, 135(2), 77–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.02.006 Theeuwes, J. (2013). Feature-based attention: It is all bottom-up priming. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368, 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0055 Theeuwes, J., & Chen, C. Y. D. (2005). Attentional capture and inhibition (of return): The effect on perceptual sensitivity. Perception & Psychophysics, 67(8), 1305–1312. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193636 Theeuwes, J., Kramer, A. F., Hahn, S., & Irwin, D. E. (1998). Our eyes do not always go where we want them to go: Capture of the eyes by new objects. Psychological Science, 9(5), 379–385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00071 Theeuwes, J., Kramer, A. F., Hahn, S., Irwin, D. E., & Zelinsky, G. J. (1999). Influence of attentional capture on oculomotor control. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 25(6), 1595–1608. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.25.6.1595 Theeuwes, J., Kramer, A. F., & Kingstone, A. (2004). Attentional capture modulates perceptual sensitivity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11(3), 551–554. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196609 Theeuwes, J., Reimann, B., & Mortier, K. (2006). Visual search for featural singletons: No top-down modulation, only bottom-up priming. Visual Cognition, 14(4–8), 466–489. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13506280500195110 Theeuwes, J., & Van der Burg, E. (2007). The role of spatial and nonspatial information in visual selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 33(6), 1335–1351. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.33.6.1335 Theeuwes, J., & Van der Burg, E. (2011). On the limits of top-down control. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 73, 2092–2103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-011-0176-9 Theeuwes, J., & Van der Burg, E. (2013). Priming makes a stimulus more salient. Journal of Vision, 13(3), 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/13.3.21 Thompson, K. G., Bichot, N. P., & Sato, T. R. (2005). Frontal eye field activity before visual search errors reveals the integration of bottom-up and top-down salience. Journal of Neurophysiology, 93, 337–351. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00330.2004 Todd, R. M., & Manaligod, M. G. M. (2017). Implicit guidance of attention: The Priority State Space framework. Cortex. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.001 Treisman, A. (1988). “Features and objects: the fourteenth Bartlett Memorial Lecture.” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40A, 201–236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724988843000104 van Zoest, W., Donk, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2004). The role of stimulus-driven and goal-driven control in saccadic visual selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Human Perception and Performance, 30(4), 746–759. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.30.4.749 Wang, B., & Theeuwes, J. (2018). Statistical regularities modulate attentional capture. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(1), 13–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000472 Wang, B., & Theeuwes, J. (submitted-a). How to inhibit a distractor location? Statistical learning versus active, top-down suppression. Wang, B., & Theeuwes, J. (submitted-b). Statistical regularities modulate attentional capture independent of search strategy. Wolfe, J. M., Butcher, S. J., Lee, C., & Hyle, M. (2003). Changing Your Mind: On the Contributions of Top-Down and Bottum-Up Guidance in Visual Search for Feature Singeltons. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29(2), 483–502. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.29.2.483 Yantis, S., & Jonides, J. (1990). Abrupt Visual Onsets and Selective Attention: Voluntary Versus Automatic Allocation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 16, 121–134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.16.1.121 Zhao, J., Al-Aidroos, N., & Turk-Browne, N. B. (2013). Attention is spontaneously biased toward regularities. Psychological Science, 24(5), 667–677. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612460407 Theeuwes, J., 2018. Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional. Journal of Cognition, 1(1), p.29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes J. Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional. Journal of Cognition. 2018;1(1):29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes, J. (2018). Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional. Journal of Cognition, 1(1), 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes J, ‘Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional’ (2018) 1 Journal of Cognition 29 DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes, Jan. 2018. “Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional”. Journal of Cognition 1 (1): 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes, Jan. “Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional”. Journal of Cognition 1, no. 1 (2018): 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Theeuwes, J.. “Visual Selection: Usually Fast and Automatic; Seldom Slow and Volitional”. Journal of Cognition, vol. 1, no. 1, 2018, p. 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/joc.13 Jump to Discussions Related content Published by Ubiquity Press	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1313
__label__wiki	0.766701	0.766701	NASA's Spitzer Finds Failed Stars May Succeed in Planet Business News \| October 19, 2005 NASA Expands Rover Science Team Artist's concept of the Mars Exploration Rover on Mars. NASA has selected eight new members for the Mars Exploration Rovers' science team. "Spirit and Opportunity have exceeded all expectations for their longevity and discoveries on Mars, and both rovers are in good position to continue providing even more great science," said Dr. Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters. "Because of this, we want to add to the rover team that collectively chooses how to use the rover's science instruments each day." The added researchers from Maryland, New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin, Arizona, California, and Washington, D.C., join 49 selected by NASA in 2000 and in 2002 to provide and use the Athena suite of science instruments on the rovers. Team leader is Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. The newly selected scientists are: * Oded Aharonson; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; Soil structure and stratification as indicators of aqueous transport at the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites * Barbara Cohen; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.; Investigating the nature and origins of Martian impact material with the Mars Exploration Rovers * Paul Geissler; United States Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz.; Investigations of Mars using the Mars Exploration Rover Athena science payload * Amitabha Ghosh; Tharsis Inc., Gaithersburg, Md.; A study of the seasonal dependence of atmospheric conditions at the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites using the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer data * Timothy McCoy; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Investigating the timing of alteration and source of volatiles on Mars * David Mittlefehldt; NASA Johnson Spaceflight Center, Houston, Texas; Statistical analysis of Mars Exploration Rover Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer data and Columbia Hills geology * Jeffrey Moore; NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; Physical and geologic investigations of the surface materials along the Mars Exploration Rover traverses * R. Aileen Yingst; University of Wisconsin Green Bay, Green Bay, Wisc.; Quantitative clast morphology as a probe to the transport history of sediments at the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites The original team members are listed at http://athena.cornell.edu/the_mission/scientists.html. Spirit and Opportunity have been exploring sites on opposite sides of Mars since January 2004. They have found geological evidence of ancient environmental conditions that were wet and possibly habitable. They completed their primary missions three months later and are currently in the third extension of their missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Guy Webster (818) 354-6278 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Latest rover news http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1314
__label__cc	0.535642	0.464358	The Collection of The Bicester Village Shopping Collection Villages have announced a new alliance with JetPrivilege, the frequent flyer programme of Jet Airways. JetPrivilege members will be able to earn JPMiles in all The Bicester Village Shopping Collection Villages in Europe. JetPrivilege – The award-winning rewards programme of Jet Airways, offers its members an exclusive experience with unique privileges across five membership tiers – Blue, Blue Plus, Silver, Gold and Platinum. About Jet Airways Jet Airways is India's premier international airline, with flights to more than 50 destinations across India and more than 20 destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf. With an average fleet age of 5.95 years, the airline's fleet of in excess of 100 state-of-the-art wide and narrow-bodied Boeing, Airbus and ATR aircraft is one of the youngest in the world. One of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, Jet Airways was also the first private Indian carrier to establish a European hub, in Brussels, for its services to North America from India. About JetPrivilege Members earn JPMiles on Jet Airways, JetKonnect and 100+ Programme Partners spread across various categories: Airline, Car rental, Co-Brand, Conversion, Dining, e-retail, Hotel, Lifestyle, Publishing, Retail and Telecommunication. For more information on the JetPrivilege Frequent Flyer Programme, please visit their website. A solo 40 minutos de Barcelona Regala más Compra aquí Regístrate para disfrutar de beneficios exclusivos	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1317
__label__wiki	0.938478	0.938478	A pirate’s life for some Jews By Jonathan Kirsch Kirsch is the author of 12 books, including, most recently, "The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God." More than 40 years ago, Edward Kritzler came across a journal kept by a 17th century English buccaneer in which he found an intriguing reference to “divers Portuguese of the Hebrew nation.” Thus began his research into an obscure and mostly forgotten aspect of Jewish history. “Forget the Merchant of Venice,” writes Kritzler. "[H]is New World cousins were adventurers after my own heart: Jewish explorers, conquistadors, cowboys and, yes, pirates.” “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean” begins with one of the enduring horrors of history -- the Inquisition. Driven out of Spain and Portugal by royal decrees that compelled them to convert or leave, the Jews of the Iberian peninsula sought refuge wherever they could find it, including the far-flung colonies in the Americas. But the friar-inquisitors inevitably followed the conquistadors, and so the Jewish refugees found themselves at risk even in the New World. Strictly speaking, only Jews who had converted to Christianity came under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, but the inquisitors acted on the assumption that few if any Jews ever submitted themselves to an earnest conversion. So it was that conversos with Jewish blood in their veins were routinely searched out and condemned as “secret Jews” by the Inquisition. A new refuge was needed, and the most daring ones managed to make their way to various colonial backwaters. “Since all Spanish conversos were forbidden in the New World, it made no difference if one was a true convert, an atheist, or a covert Jew,” Kritzler writes. “All were there illegally and therefore subject to persecution.” The real theme of Kritzler’s book, in fact, is the startling variety of strategies for survival that Jewish refugees embraced. Some pursued the traditional roles of broker, trader and financier, but others were considerably more inventive. “Outlawed in the civilized world and vulnerable in the Diaspora, Jews became skilled in ways to find and explore new lands,” explains the author, who points out that Jews were especially in demand as pilots, cartographers, and makers and users of astronomical tables and nautical instruments. “When Jewish expertise was needed, prejudice took a backseat to expediency. . . .” Many of the episodes in Kritzler’s compelling book will be truly startling to the non-specialist reader. When the original Spanish settlement in Jamaica turned out to be a dismal failure, for example, a decision was made to repopulate the island with Jewish conversos: “Jamaica for the Jews,” as Kritzler puts it, “or the colony goes under.” What’s more, the success of the settlement was essential to the task of ridding the sea lanes of pirates who preyed on Spanish treasure ships: “If it meant dealing with converted Jews to ensure their safety and prevent the strategic colony from becoming a pirate base, so be it.” But Jews were to be found among the pirates too. Kritzler introduces us to more than one Jewish buccaneer, including a remarkable man named Samuel Palache, a “pirate rabbi” who sent a flotilla of privateers to operate against Spanish shipping in the Mediterranean under the flag of Morocco in 1611 even as he served as the rabbi of the first synagogue in Holland. “Carved on the bow of his ship was a phoenix,” writes Kritzler. “It was his way of saying that the Inquisition might burn individual Jews, but could not destroy their ancestral faith.” Although Kritzler seeks to cast his characters in a heroic light, he is willing to describe some of their less appealing exploits. The Jewish community in the Brazilian town of Recife, for example, owed much of its prosperity to the local slave trade: “Jewish merchants, as middlemen, also had a lucrative share, buying slaves at . . . auction and selling them to the planters on an installment plan -- no money down, three years to pay at an interest rate of 40-50 percent.” But he also takes care to point out that “Arabs controlled the East African slave trade,” and, in West Africa, “men from Sweden, France, Denmark, Portugal, Germany, Holland, England and Spain sailed slave ships and manned the slave forts.” The unfortunate title of “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean” understates the scope of Kritzler’s book and the scale of his achievement. Not all of the Jews we meet were pirates, not all of the pirates were Jews, and not all of them operated in the Caribbean. What Kritzler has actually written is an ambitious and expansive history of a mostly unexamined aspect of the Jewish expulsion from Spain and Portugal during an especially active era of the Spanish Inquisition. And, to his credit, the author often pauses to provide the complex and highly nuanced back story -- political, diplomatic, economic and religious -- to the colorful personalities and exploits that he describes. Any reader hoping to encounter a Yiddish-speaking version of Capt. Jack Sparrow will have to look elsewhere.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1319
__label__wiki	0.972361	0.972361	MTV Movie Awards: ‘Guardians,’ ‘Fault,’ ‘Neighbors’ lead nominations “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt, is nominated for seven MTV Movie Awards. (Jay Maidment / Walt Disney Pictures) By Oliver Gettell Films about a band of intergalactic misfits, two terminally ill teenage lovebirds and a frat-battling newlywed couple are among the nominees for this year’s MTV Movie Awards. “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Neighbors” lead the pack with seven nominations each. “Guardians” and “Fault” are both up for the top honor, movie of the year, along with “American Sniper,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,” “Gone Girl,” “Boyhood,” “Whiplash” and “Selma.” The nominees in the female performance category are Jennifer Lawrence (“Mockingjay”), Emma Stone (“Birdman”), Shailene Woodley (“Fault”), Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”) and Scarlett Johansson (“Lucy”). Vying in the male performance category are Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”), Chris Pratt (“Guardians”), Ansel Elgort (“Fault”), Miles Teller (“Whiplash”) and Channing Tatum (“Foxcatcher”). As the nominations underscore, the MTV Movie Awards are a different beast compared with the prestige-oriented Academy Awards. While some Oscar-nominated films and names are represented, the MTV Movie Awards are a much more populist affair, one friendly to blockbuster action flicks, teen-pleasing romances and over-the-top comedies. The MTV Movie Awards are unapologetically a popularity contest — they’re powered by fan voting — and include cheeky honors like best shirtless performance and best WTF moment. (One could make the case that “Birdman” star Michael Keaton was snubbed in the nominations for both.) Like the films they tend to recognize, the MTV Movie Awards are all about entertainment. It’s no coincidence, after all, that the trophy is a tub of golden popcorn. Comedian Amy Schumer will host the MTV Movie Awards on April 12. The full list of nominees: Movie of the year “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" Female performance Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" Emma Stone, “Birdman” Shailene Woodley, “The Fault In Our Stars” Reese Witherspoon, “Wild” Scarlett Johansson, “Lucy” Male performance Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy” Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars” Miles Teller, “Whiplash” Channing Tatum, “Foxcatcher” Best scared-as-... performance Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl” Annabelle Wallis, “Annabelle” Jennifer Lopez, “The Boy Next Door” Dylan O’Brien, “The Maze Runner” Zach Gilford, “The Purge: Anarchy” Breakthrough performance David Oyelowo, “Selma” Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood” Best shirtless performance Zac Efron, “Neighbors” Kate Upton, “The Other Woman” Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, “22 Jump Street” Zac Efron and Dave Franco, “Neighbors” Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars” Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, “Guardians of the Galaxy” James Franco and Seth Rogen, “The Interview” Best fight Jonah Hill vs. Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street” Chris Evans vs. Sebastian Stan, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dylan O’Brien vs. Will Poulter, “The Maze Runner” Seth Rogen vs. Zac Efron, “Neighbors” Edward Norton vs. Michael Keaton, “Birdman” Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley, “The Fault In Our Stars” Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Rose Byrne and Halston Sage, “Neighbors” Best WTF moment Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, “Neighbors” Jonah Hill, “22 Jump Street” Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, “Horrible Bosses 2" Rosario Dawson and Anders Holm, “Top Five” J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street,” Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods” Peter Dinklage, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” Best musical moment Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, “Neighbors” Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, “The Skeleton Twins” Comedic performance Channing Tatum, “22 Jump Street” Rose Byrne, “Neighbors” Chris Rock, “Top Five” Kevin Hart, “The Wedding Ringer” Best on-screen transformation Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” Elizabeth Banks, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" Zoe Saldana, “Guardians of the Galaxy” Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher” Follow @ogettell for movie news Oliver Gettell Oliver Gettell is a former film blogger for the Los Angeles Times. Baz Luhrmann finds his Elvis Presley: Austin Butler nabs coveted role Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also reportedly auditioned for the role in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1320
__label__wiki	0.787382	0.787382	Best Game Ever: P.J. Tucker’s pick shows he’s the ultimate team player By Dan WoikeStaff Writer Dan Woike asked NBA players to tell us about the best game in their basketball career. This week: P.J. Tucker May 24, 2018: Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Houston Rockets 98, Golden State Warriors 94 42 minutes, 8 points, 9 rebounds, game-best plus-14 rating “What do you mean by best? Is it numbers?” asked P.J. Tucker, who has become one of the NBA’s best role players, a brickhouse on defense and a knock-down three-point shooter from the corners. He fittingly defined his “best” as the best moment he felt as a player. The high was followed by two losses, but they didn’t spoil the memory. “It was Game 5, beating the Warriors. We had won three and had to just win one out of the last two. The energy of our team … I just had never been around a team that was so complete with everything and every piece and everyone hitting on all cylinders. It was just this feeling of a real team and camaraderie. More than anything, just that feeling of a team, I’ve never felt anything like that playing basketball. I don’t remember how my game even was. That’s how I know. I don’t remember my numbers — and it doesn’t matter. How we were as a team? That’s all that matters. I don’t remember who had a good game, who played well or who played bad. I don’t remember any of that. We won. It’s that feeling, as a player who wants to win and be a leader, that kind of stuff … It’s the hardest thing in the world to get that.” dan.woike@latimes.com Twitter: @DanWoikeSports Dan Woike Dan Woike is the national basketball writer for the Los Angeles Times, a job he moved into after covering the Chargers’ first season back in Los Angeles for The Times.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1321
__label__cc	0.66764	0.33236	David Burrows: Capturing Beauty to Share With the World The Leica camera Blog Uncategorized David Burrows: Capturing Beauty to Share With the World David Burrows, a talented and thoughtful portrait and figure study photographer, doesn’t consider himself an artist; but he can’t help being captivated by the female form and creates memorable images that showcase its beauty and sensuality. Here in his own words is the heartfelt story of how he came to create the Ingrid portfolio showcased on these pages. We’ll start with his brief first person bio: “I was born and raised in and around New York City. I went off for a B.A. and an M.A. to the University of North Carolina and then returned to New York (NYU) to earn a Ph. D. in literature. I taught in the English Dept. at Rutgers University from 1960 to 1979 before leaving academia to experience life in other countries. I have lived in Sweden, France, India, Japan and China. My base for many years has been the town of Panajachel in Guatemala. I have two daughters, two sons, and quite a few grandchildren.” Q: You last appeared on the blog in April 2012. What have you been up to photographically and professionally since then? A: Soon after that blog appeared I began working with a young woman I met in a local gallery. We worked together for some months and that developed into a collection of 34 photographs, some of which are reproduced in this blog entry. Recently, I agreed to make photos for a friend, the chef/owner of a Japanese restaurant in the town where I live. I began with the intention of making files for uploading to her website and for use in her menu. I soon realized that some of the images had a life of their own, that they are something more than representations of the food she prepares. An exhibition of these photos will take place in May. About a year ago, with the help of a friend, I created a website to make some of my work available online. There are about fifty portraits of women from Visually Possessed, a book of photographs I published 20 years ago. The website also includes the complete collection of portraits of Guatemalan women, the subject of the April 2012 blog entry. The 34 Ingrid photos, some of which are featured in the current blog, can also be seen on the website. Q: You’re using the Leica D-Lux 5 as a studio camera, correct? Can you tell us why this camera works for you in a studio setting? What technical characteristics make it ideal for your kind of work? A: Back in the days of film I used to enjoy mounting my M2 on a tripod and attaching a cable release. For portraits it allowed me to frame the photo and then move my eye from the finder and engage the subject. I tried the same setup with the D-Lux 5 and, although there’s something almost comical about such a small camera on a tripod with a cable release dangling, it works. Of course, there’s the added advantage of being able to use the LCD panel as a modern ground glass. This recreates the feeling of working with a view-camera. I haven’t yet added a dark-cloth, but there is a well-made accessory available online which allows the use of a cable release with the D-Lux 5. I usually use ISO 200 and make RAW images. The resulting files are a pleasure to work with and print from. Q: The portfolio you want to share is of the same model: Ingrid. Can you provide background for this project? What is the inspiration and idea behind it? A: About two years ago some of my photos were being exhibited in a local gallery. I like to watch people as they look at my work. Do they stop to look? Do they seem to be engaged by the photographs? I saw a young woman who was moving quite slowly through the exhibition. She stopped, approached each picture, spent some time seeing it close up, and then moved away again and stopped for a last look before moving on. And sometimes she would backtrack for another viewing. I said “hello” and told her I took those pictures. We talked for a minute or two and, somewhat impulsively, I asked if I could photograph her. She said she wanted to think about it. I called her about a week later and asked what she had decided. She said yes. Q: You mentioned in your email about developing trust and the collaborative effort involved in this project. Can you elaborate on this statement? How did you go about establishing trust with this model? A: I didn’t consciously try to establish trust with her. Rather trust arose between us through getting to know each other and learning to respect what each of us could bring to the project. The photos from the early sessions made clear to me that she was the right model for the project and after a while she became convinced that my skill and experience were sufficient. At the same time, we came to trust ourselves. The sense of collaboration developed almost from the beginning. We were both finding locales and suggesting clothing and choosing background material. Sometimes I would ask for a certain pose and sometimes she would simply relax and there it was. Q: What are some of the differences you have found between a single sitting with a subject versus spending weeks with them? A: The major difference is the sense of collaboration. In the single sitting the mind-set is usually that the photographer is active and the sitter passive. The photographer manipulates the camera and directs the sitter and the sitter sits. Over the months a relationship developed between us. The goal remained to create photographs together, but as we came to know each other better the roles of photographer and model became one aspect of a friendship. I don’t know if this would be the same for any two people engaged in a project requiring trust and respect, but I’m grateful that it happened for us. Q: Have you ever thought about exploring other photographic genres besides portraiture? A: I’m not sure where it came from, but black-and-white portraiture seems to be rooted in my photographic DNA. In 1949, I used my Bar Mitzvah money to buy a Kodak 35, and in a small windowless room in my house I developed film and printed 8 x 10 portraits of my fellow Sunday school students, sold the prints to their parents (for 50¢ each), and donated the proceeds to the temple. That was almost 65 years ago. If I find a subject that attracts me more than the human form, I’ll go for it. Until then… Q: Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d like to share? A: There is one project that is still in the daydream stage and can’t really be called upcoming; perhaps if I mention it here it will begin to take shape. I would like to make a portfolio of portraits of my friends, about ten or fifteen of them — I haven’t made a list yet. Some live close by, in the same town where I live. Others farther away: New York, San Francisco, Hamburg, Bali… I don’t enjoy traveling as much as I used to, but this project may help get me moving around the planet again. Perhaps subconsciously related to this project, I recently bought an M9-P from my friend Ken Hansen. I’m looking forward to working again with my Leitz lenses that have been idle since I reluctantly retired my M2. Q: Can you say something about why and how women inspire your creative vision and why they comprise the main focus of your work? A: Why and how women inspire my creative vision? I don’t know the answer. Is it the idea of a beautiful mother, adolescent curiosity about the female body, the pleasure of being in the presence of women, the relationship that grows during the photo session, the beauty of the woman that is preserved in the negative or digital file? Is it that the image, like memory, allows me the illusion of possession? How do women inspire my creative vision? I don’t know if I have a “creative vision.” That’s something real artists have. What I have are eyes that scan constantly and every now and then, often at unexpected moments. An image stops time for me for an instant and I am seeing something that makes me think, “Do I have a camera with me? I want that image.” When I am among women, that thought comes to me more often. Q: You often use your Leica D-Lux 5 on a tripod with a cable release, you sometimes use the LCD as the modern equivalent of a view camera ground glass, and all the images in this portfolio are presented in black-and-white. What are some of the advantages of this traditionalist approach, what do you find especially compelling about the black-and-white medium, and do you ever shoot your D-Lux 5 handheld and compose in a more freewheeling manner? A: For me, the greatest advantage in treating the D-Lux 5 as a view camera is that I get to assume the posture of many of the photographers of the past who showed the world that photographs can also be works of art. I find myself working more slowly with a tripod, a bit more meditatively. With the cable release held between my fingers it seems natural to await the you-know-which moment. I’ve been careful, paid attention to the details, and am watching for the 1/60th of a second of show time. Yes, I often handhold the D-Lux 5 — sometimes even in a freewheeling manner. When I’m in a city I like to hold the camera in one hand, point it in the general direction of what I think might be an image and click away, letting the camera make the finer technical decisions. I don’t why I continue to do this since I’ve never kept a photo that I’ve taken this way. Obviously I prefer my framing over chance. Why black and white? Not sure. Maybe it’s because that’s what I fell in love with during the hours in my darkroom as a teenager. Or perhaps because the photographers who were my heroes and, through the pages of Popular Photography and Modern Photography, my mentors, made images in black-and-white which taught me to see and to respond emotionally, not just because of the subject of the image but because of the power and subtleties of the blacks, whites and grays. Color pales in comparison. Q: In getting to know Ingrid both as a model and as a person, you note that “The photos from the early sessions made clear to me that she was the right model…She saw that the woman in the pictures was beautiful.” And “The sense of collaboration developed almost from the beginning.” Do you think this outlines the essential process that must take place before authentic images that capture and convey the model’s identity and personhood can be captured? How did you know that she was the right model, and how important was it that she saw her own beauty in your images? A: I don’t know if it’s an essential process. It’s what happened as Ingrid and I worked together and found that we could trust each other and make photographs we both felt good about. I knew that she was the right model because the qualities that moved me to ask her to sit in the first place were present in the photographs. Sometimes we’d look at an image and I’d say, “Beautiful!” She’d say, “Yes, beautiful.” I’d say, “I meant the woman.” She’d say, “Me too.” Q: You implicitly refer to the process of creating this portfolio as “two people engaged in a project requiring trust and respect,” but that eloquent description applies to many other collaborative human relationships, including friendship and marriage. Do you think this paradigm manifests in all your work? Do you think it’s possible to create authentic portraits without this level of mutual understanding? A: Does the paradigm manifest in all my work? I try not to photograph anyone I don’t feel good about. In the first moments of meeting a potential sitter, I know whether or not we can work well together. Trust and respect begin to grow. I don’t know if authentic portraits can be created without a level of mutual understanding. My motivation in making portraits does not include showing aspects, good or bad, of a sitter’s character. In that sense, maybe my photographs are not really portraits. My intention is not to illuminate who this person is. It is, rather, to create an image which she and I, and hopefully others, find beautiful. I can’t imagine that a lack of trust and respect can allow much to flourish in such an undertaking. Q: Aside from the obvious enhancement in optical flexibility, what are you most looking forward to in your “daydream stage” project of photographing 10-15 of your old friends scattered across the globe with your new Leica M9-P? And which older Leitz M-mount lenses do you plan to press into service? A: I’m in the newlywed stage with the M9-P. It’s with me constantly. I used an M2 for many years and the M9 feels remarkably familiar to my hands (although the body contours are not exactly the same). I feel as if I again have a camera that works the way I work. In the next few months I plan to photograph some of my friends who live in this town. This time it will be the M9 on the tripod. I want to take advantage of the full-size sensor and make large prints to hang in one of the local galleries. As for my lenses, I’ve always liked working with the 50 mm. It is indeed my normal lens (I have a collapsible Elmar, but I think I’ll leave it on the M2. I’ve gotten differing opinions on whether it’s a good idea to collapse it on an M9). What I use most is a 50 mm f/2 Summicron I bought a long time ago. I also have a 35 mm f/2 Summicron 35 and a vintage 90 mm f/2.8 Elmarit which, even though there are little white spots here and there on the internal lens surfaces, remains startlingly sharp. I don’t think I’ll be removing the 50 very often though. When I do the framing in my mind, it’s usually in the neighborhood of a 50 mm. I see a lot wider than 50, but my mind’s frame-lines gravitate toward the normal focal length. Q: Here we have a sensual semi-nude in silhouette against translucent drapery. It certainly captures the beauty of the female form in a suggestive rather than an explicit way. Do you agree? What does this image mean to you personally, and can you provide the technical details? A: The technical details first; ISO 200 has been standard for me since I began rating Tri-X at 200. It was shot at f/2.8 in Aperture-Priority mode at 1/160 sec. I wanted the silhouette form but was hoping to keep some detail in the figure as well. What does this image mean to me personally? I’m looking now at a framed print of it on the wall. I look at it for a while almost every day. I’m fascinated by it. For me, the form of the body is erotic, while the effect of the entire composition is calming. The pose, the fabric she’s wearing, and the window are all Ingrid’s. Q: This figure study has a timeless quality that is enhanced by the black-and-white medium. It looks like it could have been shot 100 years ago or last week. Can you tell us how you lit it to emphasize certain aspects of her form and how you arrived at this particular pose that combines a sense of repose, but with a visual energy and tension in the arms? A: This is one of the photos we made by the light coming through the small frosted window at one end of the room (it’s the same frosted glass that you find in the bathroom window in older houses). It was for me serendipitous that it worked so well as a source of light for photographing the human body. As I remember, the pose developed as Ingrid moved through a series of slightly different poses. I stopped her when it seemed right. In the minimal rearranging that I suggested the light and the form came together. Q: This image is a classic nude study that embodies a serenity and contemplation while celebrating the female form. Again, it is the lighting that really makes this shot — emphasizing the line, solidity, and elegance of the forms. What was going through your mind when you pressed the shutter release and can you tell us how you lit this picture? A: The light for this photograph came from a window about two feet in front of her on the same wall. It wasn’t so much what was on my mind as it was the feeling that comes when I release the shutter and I know that the image is special. In the old days I’d want to rush home and develop that roll immediately. Now, I take a quick look to be sure that it’s well exposed and sharp, but I save really looking at the image for the computer screen. Those infrequent moments of sensing the intuitive “Yes” as I press the shutter release, are among the most satisfying in my life as a photographer. Q: This one was obviously shot from above as the model touched her toes with her hands. How would you characterize the visual effect of shooting from this unusual perspective, and what visual message were you were trying to convey by emphasizing her elegantly shaped and manicured fingers and toes? A: The visual sensation of viewing Ingrid’s hands and toes from just above her point of view was at first a little disorienting for me, but I was drawn to it. I like the structure her arms and hands and feet create, and I like the light on her painted toenails. When I look at her hands and the way they touch her feet, the image holds my attention. I’m not sure why. Q: How do you see your photography evolving over the next few years and do you plan to continue pretty much in the same vein or to explore other genres such as travel photography, male portraits, or fine art abstracts? A: Long-term, I have no idea. What I want to do next is make black-and-white portraits of some of my neighbors and friends with the M9-P. I’d like to make large prints for a change. I will need to farm out the printing. I don’t have room in this casita for a large-format printer and getting hold of printing paper and ink is a challenge in the Third World. Q: Are you planning on publishing a hard copy or online book of your work, exhibiting your work at galleries, or getting it out there in some other way going forward? A: It pleases me to know that some people are seeing my photographs. I’ve had a few shows at local galleries and enjoy watching people looking at my work. Right now, I have three collections (including the complete Ingrid photos) on my website. I am not driven by an urge to make a career or become wealthy or well-known through my photographs. When I make something that I feel is beautiful my instinct is simply to show it to people who might also enjoy it. Q: Since you are evidently committed to black-and-white, have you ever considered using or acquiring a Leica Monochrom, the M-series camera that delivers maximum resolution and superb tonal gradation exclusively in black-and-white? A: I’ve been fascinated by the Monochrom since I first heard about it. I read whatever I can find on the web about the camera and am curious to see prints. The tonal gradation you mention, though, is evident even in images on the computer screen. Perhaps when I feel the work I’m doing deserves it, there will be a Monochrom. Thank you for your time, David! – Leica Internet Team To see more of David’s work, visit his website or click here. 50mm f/2 SummicronDavid BurrowsLeica D-Lux 5	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1327
__label__cc	0.732164	0.267836	Field Projects: Community Based Conservation Vaquita Conservation Through Fisheries Education Extinction of the vaquita, the world’s most critically endangered marine mammal, is imminent without the immediate elimination of illegal fishing and removal of deadly gillnets from the vaquita’s environment. The rarest porpoise in the world, the vaquita is found in the head of the Upper Gulf of California, just a few hours from The Living Desert. Despite the heroic efforts of the Mexican government to protect vaquitas, the animals are continuing to die at an alarming rate in illegal gillnets used to fish for a large endangered fish, the totoaba. There are fewer than 30 vaquita remaining. The Living Desert’s Director of Conservation, Dr. James Danoff-Burg, serves as the Program Leader of the Vaquita CPR effort on behalf of all AZA organizations. The Living Desert has been involved in vaquita conservation efforts since 2011. Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit In early 2018, The Living Desert led a team of researchers from California State University San Marcos and the Helping Rhinos organization to South Africa to evaluate the social impact of what has become one of the bright points of light in conservation: The all-female Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit. The Mambas work in the Greater Kruger National Park ecosystem, and specifically in Balule Game Reserve. This intrepid group of women has reduced poaching of the protected large mammals in the 200 square mile (52,000 hectares) corner of Africa they patrol. They do this while unarmed and female, in a society that is so gendered that they are viewed suspiciously if they drive a car, learn how to read, or wear military fatigues, let alone dare to tell men not to kill Africa’s endangered wildlife. Given that all of these are essential attributes of being a Black Mamba, these women have forged many new paths to the future of conservation on this continent. The Living Desert team has partnered with the Black Mambas on research projects and financial programs to support their valiant conservation efforts. Wild Nature Institute Africa’s great giants are at risk. Giraffes, elephants, and rhinoceroses play critical ecological roles in the places where they live, but their numbers are plummeting because of human-related conflicts. Tanzania provides some of the last best natural habitat for these mega-herbivores but animals are so often killed by poachers for meat, ivory, and horn, or by farmers seeking to protect their crops, that populations are threatened even within protected areas. Successful conservation of Africa’s giants requires support from Africans living alongside giraffes, elephants, and rhinoceros, as well as people around the world who care about the survival of these species and their habitats. The goal of the Wild Nature Institute’s (WNI) Celebrating Africa’s Giants project is to use environmental education to build community support for conservation efforts that will ensure their long-term survival. Environmental education is one of the best tools for developing meaningful conservation awareness and action – it empowers people to learn about issues and engage in problem solving actions to improve the environment. The Living Desert is a partner and financial supporter of the Wild Nature Institute and its environmental education programs in Tanzania that are creating value and awareness. We also work with the Wild Nature Institute across Tanzania to improve the Maasai Mobile Education program in progress and are working with them to develop curriculum that can be used locally. Learn more about our partnership with the Wild Nature Institute. Desert Tortoise Adoption Program The Living Desert, in partnership with the regional California Turtle and Tortoise Club, coordinates the Desert Tortoise Adoption Program for the California Department of Game and Fish in Southeastern California. This program’s objective is to stop the illegal collection of tortoises in the wild and to prevent the release to the wild of disease-carrying tortoises. Learn more about adopting a desert tortoise from the California Turtle and Tortoise Club.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1334
__label__cc	0.518708	0.481292	Best Oncology Hospitals in Mumbai Choose from 6 best Oncology hospitals in Mumbai Top Hospitals For Oncology In Mumbai Global Hospital Mumbai Wockhardt Hospital North Mumbai Wockhardt Hospital South Mumbai Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital SevenHills Hospital Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital Mumbai, India - 4.5 / 5 - (4 Reviews) Global Hospital in Parel, Mumbia is a top-class multi-specialty tertiary care hospital with a capacity of 450 beds offering exemplary services for outpatient, inpatient and critical care. This hospital is credited to be the first to be recognized for Research & Development by the government and is the only hospital to be associated with King’s College Hospital, London. The first to conduct combined Liver & Kidney Transplant, Dual Lobe Liver Transplant, Split Liver Transplant and Minimal Access Lung Transplant in west India and also the first to introduce Two Wheeler Ambulance Service (GART- Global Accident Rescue Team). Mumbai, India - 4 / 5 - (6 Reviews) Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road is a tertiary care, super specialty healthcare facility, inaugurated in 2014 by the parent company Wockhardt Ltd., India's 5th largest Pharmaceutical and Healthcare company with a presence in 20 countries across the globe. 350-bedded Hospital with wide-ranging healthcare services spread across all major specialties offering exceptional clinical care to a large number of national and international patients. This hospital brings together the combination of ultra-modern technology set-up, contemporary infrastructure and internationally trained and reputed clinical experts under one roof. Best Dialysis service care provider : Wockhardt Hospital, North Mumbai (2016) Award for Best Hospital in Paediatric & Gynaecology 2015 – Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road Awarded “Ethical Company in Healthcare Services” at India’s Most Ethical Companies Conference and Awards organised by World CSR Day Wockhardt Hospitals is associated with Partners Harvard Medical International, an international arm of Harvard Medical School, US (2001) Wockhardt Hospitals wins 21 awards for excellence in Human Resource at the World HRD Congress Award for Best Hospitality In Healthcare 2015 – Wockhardt Hospitals Group Lwawire Robert Katula traveled from Tanzania to India for Aneurysm Treatment “My Name is Lwawire Robert Katula. I come from Tanzania. About… two months ago, it was discovered, I would say maybe accidentally, because… I had not gone to the hospital for this aneurysm but I Mumbai, India - 3.8 / 5 New Age Wockhardt Hospital is a leading multi-specialty hospital providing comprehensive tertiary care services in a number of specialties. The 350-bedded facility has a world-class infrastructure constituting a full-fledged Paediatric and Adult Cardiac Institute, modernized Critical Care Institute and Stroke Institute having Stroke & Paralysis Support Group. The hospital has made its mark as a renowned healthcare service provide with achievements like being the first fully wireless hospital in Asia and ECG management system in India and also starting the first paperless ICU in Mumbai. Wockhardt Hospitals won the award for Innovation in Quality of Service delivery at the group level First prize in the poster presentation category at the 2015 Annual Conference of Pediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI), Hyderabad Dr Shrish Hastak from Mumbai Central , received "The Economic Times Inspiring Neurologist of India Award" in new Delhi at the hands of the Health Minister. Won the award for Best Green Hospital at CMO Asia- National Awards for Excellence in Healthcare 2016 Won the award for Best HR Practice in Healthcare at CMO Asia- National Awards for Excellence in Healthcare 2016 Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is a top-class multi-specialty tertiary care hospital with a capacity of 750 inpatient beds offering outstanding healthcare services under the care of distinguished experts. The hospital boasts of having largest number of critical care beds in Mumbai, with 180 ICU beds and 240 independent clinics for consulting, having the capacity to deal with over 9,000 outpatient consultations every day. The nationally accredited laboratory is fully equipped with high-tech instruments to carry out advanced molecular biology tests for accurate diagnosis. SevenHills Hospital is a leading multi super-specialty tertiary care hospital established in 1986 and has been a premier healthcare services provider for more than three decades. Built on sprawling area of 17 acres, this world-class facility has 1500 beds with over 30 super-specialties offering excellent outpatient and inpatient facility. The hospital has maintained par excellence in quality of clinical care and safety standards, and is dedicated in providing the best possible medical services. There is an in-campus residential facility for doctors and medical support staff which can accommodate more than 300 experts, thereby assuring round the clock availability for experts for consultation. Mumbai, India - 4 / 5 - (1 Review) Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital is a tertiary care healthcare service provider established in 1950 and inaugurated by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It is 350 bed facility with 1500 employees under 55 specialties, operating under highly qualified and accomplished doctors. The hospital has one of the largest Bariatric Surgery (Weight Loss Surgery) program in the region and offers advanced procedures for cardiac interventions including Minimal Access Cardiac Bypass Surgery. Patient Reviews for Best Oncology Hospitals in Mumbai Afsana Begum for Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Oncology - - 4 / 5 Very satisfied with the treatment received from this hospital.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1335
__label__cc	0.607939	0.392061	LMAX Exchange in the Press All the latest LMAX Exchange news coverage Home > LMAX Exchange Group FX Market Leadership FX Transaction Cost Analysis For all LMAX Exchange media enquiries: LMAX Exchange announces record high profitability in 2016 London, May 2017 – Today, LMAX Exchange, one of UK’s fastest growing financial technology firms and the leading MTF for FX trading, is pleased to announce record high profitability with reported annual EBITDA of £5.6m in 2016. This marks the company’s strongest financial performance to date and demonstrates its rapidly expanding footprint in the global FX market – particularly remarkable in the face of a difficult period for the spot FX industry, which has seen a volume decline of 19% over the last 3 years. 2016 highlights include EBITDA of £5.6m, up 300% year-on-year Gross profit of £20.8m, up 33% year-on-year Strong growth in the institutional segment, volumes up 52% year-on-year Completion of global exchange infrastructure with the addition of a matching engine in New York Continued leadership in the campaign to eradicate practices open to market abuse Five year annually compounded growth results (2012-2016) demonstrate Gross profit: 61% annual growth Notional volumes: 44% annual growth Client funds: 30% annual growth The above performance has been delivered following a significant investment in technology, geographical expansion and product diversification which created a greater breadth of services and a wider addressable market in 2016: The completion of the bilateral clearing project has enhanced the company’s presence in the institutional segment and has led to a 52% increase in volumes from this customer segment, which remains the core growth focus for the firm into 2017; The September 2016 launch of the North American matching engine in New York (NY4) was a key strategic geographical move. This new liquidity pool for institutional spot FX trading, enabled North American clients to trade on LMAX Exchange with unique, no ‘last look’ limit order liquidity; The continued investment in building market presence in AsiaPac, including growth of the Tokyo-based exchange (launched in 2015), has led to a 55% growth in volumes for the region. David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Exchange commented, “2016 was a good year for LMAX Exchange. We were able to build on our technology investments in 2015, continue our strong growth and expand our capabilities to new markets. In addition, we were able to deliver for the institutional marketplace and drive volumes in Asia. This was all achieved against the backdrop of market uncertainty and volatility that we were well positioned to benefit from. Finally, we continued to champion transparency and fairness in the global FX industry as a fundamental belief of the business. Looking forward through 2017, we are seeing sustained volume growth and significant institutional uptake in all markets.” In the broader industry context, LMAX Exchange continued to campaign for the need to rid the market of practices open to abuse, such as ‘last look’ and ‘pre-hedging’, in order to increase transparency and regain customers’ trust following a few scandal ridden years. In addition to the regularly published thought leadership reports and the ongoing dialogue with BIS FXWG and the FEMR Working Group representatives from the Bank of England, FCA and HM Treasury, LMAX Exchange recently became the first organisation to publicly commit to the upcoming Global Code of Conduct. Looking ahead, LMAX Exchange is aiming to lead the development of the Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) methodology for foreign exchange. This work will see the company launch a whitepaper in May 2017 proposing a comprehensive, new set of metrics for analysing execution quality and trading costs on firm and ‘last look’ liquidity. Highly anticipated industry research, this white paper is intended to contribute to an industry-wide debate on how to conduct TCA in a way that benefits the customer, provides a fair comparison for liquidity providers and creates genuine transparency: one that enables choice and aids quality decision making. Download as a PDF – Seven Hills: Tom Nutt T: +44 (0) 7775 686 706 E: [email protected] About LMAX Exchange LMAX Exchange Group is a dynamic, visionary and award-winning financial technology company. Recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing technology firms, LMAX Exchange is leading the transformation of the global FX industry to transparent, fair, precise and consistent execution. Operating one global marketplace for trading FX, metals, indices and commodities, LMAX Exchange delivers open access, transparency and a level playing field to all market participants. LMAX Exchange Group offers all clients the ability to trade on LMAX Exchange central limit order book, driven by streaming no ‘last look’ limit-order liquidity from top tier banks and non-bank financial institutions. Servicing funds, banks, brokerages, asset managers and proprietary trading firms, LMAX Exchange offers an anonymous, regulated, rules-based trading environment, order execution in strict price/time priority, and access to real-time streaming market and trade data, enabling all market participants to control execution quality and total trading costs. Offering a comprehensive range of instruments and ultra-low latency execution, LMAX Exchange operates a global FX exchange infrastructure with matching engines in London, New York and Tokyo. LMAX Exchange - a unique vision for global FX. LMAX Exchange Group is the holding company of LMAX Limited and LMAX Broker Limited. LMAX Exchange is a trading name of LMAX Limited, which operates a multilateral trading facility, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 509778) and is a company registered in England and Wales (number 6505809). LMAX Global is a trading name of LMAX Broker Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 783200) and is a company registered in England and Wales (number 10819525). LMAX Exchange Group is the holding company of LMAX Limited and LMAX Broker Limited \| LMAX Exchange is a trading name of LMAX Limited, which operates a multilateral trading facility, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 509778) and is a company registered in England and Wales (number 6505809) \| LMAX Global is a trading name of LMAX Broker Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 783200) and is a company registered in England and Wales (number 10819525) \| Our registered address is Yellow Building, 1A Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1343
__label__wiki	0.577719	0.577719	Girls basketball: Section 1 all-time leading scorers A list of the 14 girls basketball players to score 2,000 career points in Section 1. Girls basketball: Section 1 all-time leading scorers A list of the 14 girls basketball players to score 2,000 career points in Section 1. Check out this story on lohud.com: http://lohud.us/2iK6Nvl Lohud Girls Basketball Blog Mike Zacchio, Rockland/Westchester Journal News Published 6:28 p.m. ET Dec. 29, 2016 \| Updated 11:10 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2019 Woodlands junior Teisha Hyman was named to the 2017-18 lohud girls basketball Super 7 preseason watch list. Wochit While there are usually a handful of 1,000-point scorers every season, only a select few have ever reached the 2,000-point plateau from Section 1. Below is the list of all 14 players to join that elusive club, along with any other notable players and information. The Journal News/lohud will continue to update the list of all-time scorers in the future. You can view the entire list of 2,000-point scorers from the state at the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA) site here. Note: The 3-point line was not implemented by the National Federation of State High School Associations until the 1987-88 season. 1. Saniya Chong, Ossining (2009-13): 2,988 2. Karen O’Connor, FDR-Hyde Park (1983-87): 2,662 3. Teisha Hyman, Woodlands (2013-19): 2,568 4. Sheila Wagner, Peekskill (1981-86): 2,476 5. Cusena Newton, Hamilton (1982-87): 2,384 6. Margo Hackett, Pawling (2007-11): 2,266 7. Joann Balsamo, Somers (1984-88): 2,254 8. Sandra Gibbons, Gorton (1977-81): 2,250 9. Stephanie Cleary, Tappan Zee (1996-2001): 2,155 10. Katryna Gaither, Mount Vernon (1989-93): 2,092 11. Imani Tilford, Woodlands (2009-14): 2,063 13. Katie Wall, Ketcham (2015-19): 2,050 12. Jenna Viani, Lourdes (1996-2002): 2,042 14. Lisa Moray, Ketcham (1998-2004): 2,021 Ossining alumna Andra Espinoza-Hunter scored 2,636 career points over her six-year career from 2011-17, but spent three seasons at Blair Academy (N.J.), where she scored 1,163 points. We have decided not to include her in the list since she did not score 2,000 career points while playing in Section 1, but felt she should be acknowledged in the post. Read or Share this story: http://lohud.us/2iK6Nvl	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1344
__label__wiki	0.658359	0.658359	Feature Your Event Homes By Town Long Island Realtors LongIsland.com's Fun Guides Discover Long Island's Travel Guide Port Washington Waterfront Guide LIRR Schedules Long Island Travel Guide (LICVB) Festivals & Fairs Guide A Visitor's Guide to New York City Home » Things To Do » Visitor's Guides » New York City Whether you have heard it called The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps, or simply The City, there is undoubtedly only one place that has earned the title of New York City. Comprised of five boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island - and serving as one of the most important hubs of culture and commerce in the world, New York City is home to some of the most famous landmarks in the world. Additionally, with a population of over 8 million people, it more than doubles Los Angeles, the second most populated U.S. city. Renowned for its constant zeal, it is no exaggeration to say that there is always something to do in NYC. From Broadway shows to sporting events, activities are seemingly endless across each one of the city's culturally-distinct boroughs. Broadway Musicals & Plays Broadway is a term that specifically describes professional theatrical performances in Manhattan. Since attaining a Broadway distinction means that a venue must have at least 500 seats, forty theaters make the grade, including the renowned Al Hirschield Theatre and the historic Lyceum Theatre. A typical Broadway show performs 8 times each week, with night shows running Tuesdays through Saturdays and matinees on Wednesdays and Sundays. While there is a tremendous amount of diversity on the show slate at any given time, fans of musicals in particular will be in absolute heaven. Those looking for a more intimate experience should certainly check out Off-Broadway shows, in which theaters with less than 500 seats showcase a variety of plays and musicals. While popular Broadway shows often command high ticket prices, your theater experience does not have to be expensive. Not only can you buy discounted tickets ahead of time, but one of the best local tips is to head over to Theatre Development Fund's Ticket Booth in the heart of Times Square. Each day, the booth offers available tickets to a terrific selection of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at steep discounts. Although the TKTS Booth is great for discounted last-minute tickets, if you have you heart set on seeing a specific show on Broadway, you'll want to head over to ShowTickets.com, where you can snag great seats for all of the best shows on Broadway & beyond! The only Broadway theater that is not located in the city's Theater District is the Vivian Beaumont Theater, housed inside the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. With multiple theaters and residencies of the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet among others, Lincoln Center is a prominent art facility with daily shows and performances. Although not a Broadway venue, Radio City Music Hall is also one of the more famous venues in the city, offering an impressive selection of live entertainment along with its annual holiday musical, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Though many cities may only have one or two landmarks that are imperative to a tourism trip, New York City has a true abundance. The best place to start is probably with the city's most iconic landmark, the Statue of Liberty. A gift from France to the United States, the sculpture was created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel and dedicated in 1886. At 305 feet from the bottom of the base to the tip of her torch, Lady Liberty has stood as a beacon of hope and freedom for millions of immigrants in search of the American Dream. Right across from the Statue of Liberty is Ellis Island, which operated as the world's largest immigrant gateway between 1892 and 1954. Today, both facilities are open to the public and are only accessible by ferry. The ferry departs from Battery Park and will take you to both Liberty Island and Ellis Island, both of which are open every day except Christmas. Ferries typically depart Battery Park between 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM each day, but schedules can vary by season. General Contact for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: (212) 363-3200. Times Square has become the primary symbol of New York City life due to its massive scope and unrivaled energy. With well over 300,000 people walking through the area on a regular day, the lights and enthusiasm dominate each day and stretch through into the wee hours of the night. Located at the cross of Broadway and 7th Avenue between West 42nd and West 47th, Times Square provides access to the Theater District and many companies' flagship retail stores and restaurants. In recent years, a pedestrian plaza has been added to allow safer travel throughout the square, with public seating available for leisure and the occasional concert. Madame Tussauds' Times Square location has over 200 wax figures of the most iconic celebrities in the world and a variety of shows and interactive exhibits for all ages. The museum is located on West 42nd between 7th and 8th Avenues. If your thirst for alternative entertainment was not satisfied, walk right next door to Ripley's Believe It or Not!. Embracing the very essence of the strange and unusual, you never know quite what you will see once you enter! Between 59th Street and 110th Street in Manhattan, Central Park's green grasses, tall trees, and seven bodies of water give a shot of nature to an otherwise concrete jungle. At 2.5 miles long and a ½ mile wide, Central Park is one of the largest and most active urban parks in the world, serving as an immensely popular destination for locals and tourists alike. While you can absolutely walk around and simply enjoy the nature, the area has a lot to offer in terms of designated activities. During the summer months, Rumsey Playfield, located on the east side near E. 69th Street and 5th Avenue, hosts a regular schedule of popular musical acts through the “SummerStage” and “Good Morning America” series. Similarly, the Naumburg Bandshell, located just south of Terrace Drive, has been providing classical musical concerts for over 150 years, with the addition of a splash of modern acts in recent years. Summertime at Central Park also means a glorious display at Conservatory Garden, a six-acre garden at 105th Street and 5th Avenue. Here, you are free to leisurely stroll and enjoy the well-kept flowers and various plants. Besides a healthy dose of sports, Central Park also offers bicycle riding and rowboats, both of which can be rented on an hourly basis. Though winters in New York City can certainly get a little chilly, the good news is that Central Park is warmed by its consistent acrivity during the colder months. The park's primary attractions during the winter are its Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink, which both offer daily ice skating to the public. Wollman Rink can be found on the park's east side at 59th Street and 6th Avenue, while Lasker Rink can be accessed at 110th Street and Lenox Avenue. Schedules vary, but both are typically in operation throughout November, December, and January. The Empire State Building For decades upon its completion in 1931, the Empire State Building stood as the tallest building in the world. While that record has since been taken away by larger buildings, the significance and iconic nature of the Empire State Building continues to make it one of the most stunning aspects of the city's skyline. The building is located on 5th Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, roughly half a mile from Penn Station and less than a mile from Times Square. Most of the building's 102 stories may be devoted to private office space, but there are a number of attractions for visitors to enjoy. The Art Deco-styled lobby leads to the building's Sustainability and Dare to Dream Exhibits, which detail the building's remarkable history. From there, you can visit the 86th Floor Observation Deck, which is the highest open-air observatory in New York, or the Top Deck on the 102nd floor. Both exhibits and observation decks are included in the building's available audio tour. General Contact for the Empire State Building: (212) 736-3100 Museums & Education New York City promotes a diverse selection of museums, galleries, and memorials for patrons interested in learning everything from art to history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is both the largest and most visited art museum in the United States, boasting an incredible permanent collection and rotating selection of loaned pieces. In addition to the collection housed in the main building, The Cloisters Museum & Gardens is dedicated to showcasing art and architecture of medieval Europe, and is a branch of The Met, despite being located 9 miles away in Fort Tyron Park. While The Met is located on the eastern side of Central Park at East 82nd Street, the American Museum of Natural History is located less than a mile away on the park's western side at West 79th Street. The American Museum of Natural History contains tens of millions of historic pieces set across 45 exhibition halls, temporary exhibits, and a planetarium. Though the Met, Cloisters, and AMNH are some of the most renowned educational destinations in the world, even most New Yorkers don't realize that their admission prices are suggested as opposed to fixed. Definitely worth keeping in mind if you're on a budget! In addition to The Metropolitan, art enthusiasts have plenty of other art museums to visit in Manhattan alone. The Solomon R. Guggenheim is less than half a mile away from The Met and features modern art inside one of the most architecturally-stunning buildings in the city. Fans of modern art will also want to visit the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan, which has an excellent collection of pieces by the likes of Picasso, Warhol, van Gogh, and Seurat. The National 9/11 Memorial Museum is located in lower Manhattan and serves to educate and reflect on the events that unfolded on September 11th, 2001. The site has both a museum of artifacts and historical information, as well as an outdoor memorial with reflecting pools where the World Trade Center Towers once stood. For those interested in military history, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is set aboard the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier and features a selection of military exhibits and the actual Enterprise space shuttle. The Intrepid is located in Hell's Kitchen and only 1.5 miles from Central Park. With an impressive permanent collection and regular exhibitions for both adults and children, the New-York Historical Society is a prime destination for historical education. The museum is only a block away from the American Museum of Natural History on the western side of Central Park. Featuring over 21,000 works by more than 3,000 artists, the Whitney Museum of American Art offers a breadth of contemporary pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum is located right along the Hudson River at 99 Gansevoort Street in Manhattan. Located less than a mile from the Whitney on West 17th Street, the Rubin Museum of Art offers exhibitions and artistic events involving the culture of the Himalayas and India in relation to Western lifestyles. For those interested in learning about animals and viewing them up close, New York City has five individual zoos spread across its boroughs. The largest of them all is the Bronx Zoo, located within Bronx Park and home to hundreds of species and over 4,000 individual animals. The city's second-largest zoo is the Queens Zoo, which encompasses 18 acres in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The park is well known for its Pavilion and Unisphere structures buildings constructed/renovated for the 1964/1965 World's Fair, as well as its art collection housed in the Queens Museum. For a smaller zoo experience, the Staten Island Zoo is home to 1400 animals and is located in the suburb of West New Brighton, Staten Island. If you are looking for something to do in Brooklyn, head over to the Prospect Park Zoo, a popular zoo that is located within the expansive, 585-acre Prospect Park. Last of the zoos, but certainly not the least, is the Central Park Zoo. Located on the park's east side at 64th Street, a wide selection of species offers an afternoon of fun for children and adults alike. Combining aquatic learning with an astounding history, Coney Island's New York Aquarium is one of the pioneers of American aquariums and has been a regular attraction since opening in 1896. While Coney Island's name may imply that it is a separate entity, it is merely located at the southern edge of Brooklyn and is readily accessible by mass transportation. With seven professional teams that play directly within the boroughs, New York City is one of the most active cities for sports in the nation. Yankee Stadium, located in the Bronx, is home to the New York Yankees and the New York City Football Club. The stadium is readily-accessible by public transportation, with its corresponding subway stop located at East 161st Street and River Avenue. World-renowned for its prestige and legacy, Madison Square Garden is home to the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, as well as an active roster of concerts and special events. The venue is perfectly situated between 7th and 8th Avenues and West 31st and West 33rd Streets, less than a mile away from Times Square. Additionally, it is located on top of Penn Station (Pennsylvania Station), providing incredibly easy train access to and from the stadium. Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, is located in Queens and is accessible by all public transportation methods. Direct LIRR train service is available from Penn Station, as is subway service. The newest addition to the New York City sports arena lineup is Barclays Center, an indoor Brooklyn arena that is home to the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Islanders. Constructed in 2010, the venue is located on Atlantic Avenue and is located across the street from Atlantic Terminal, an LIRR train station, as well as numerous subway and bus stops. The arena also boasts a year-round roster of concerts and shows. Getting To NYC From LI Despite the perhaps daunting list of stations and train lines, utilizing public transportation to get to NYC is actually rather simple. Running from Manhattan to Montauk, the railway system that will take you all across Long Island and into NYC is known as the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). With over 100 stations, there are bound to be a few train stations in close proximity to where you are traveling from on Long Island. Tickets can be purchased on the train from a train conductor, but pre-purchasing them at a station's desk or automated kiosk will save you a few dollars and is strongly advised. Essentially, the three stations you should be aware of are Penn Station, Atlantic Terminal, and Jamaica. Besides some stations for railway employees, Jamaica is the final stop before reaching Manhattan and Brooklyn and is used for transfers. While you may have a direct trip to your destination, changing schedules can often have you transferring in Jamaica, so definitely check a train's intended stops before boarding. Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal will be your destination stops, with Atlantic Terminal taking you to Brooklyn and Penn Station to Manhattan. If you are looking to visit Times Square, Central Park, or The Empire State Building, for example, you will be heading to Penn Station. Since Penn Station is the final stop on the railroad, and directly underneath Madison Square Garden, you shouldn't have a problem finding your way there! Thanks to one of the most significant city infrastructures in the world, you have plenty of options for transportation throughout the city. Parking can be quite difficult and very expensive, so other transportation methods tend to be more convenient and affordable. Perhaps the most affordable way of hopping around the city is by the New York City Subway, which has a variety of lines that will get you wherever you want to go in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Subway rides are paid for with MetroCards, disposable cards that can be purchased and reloaded at each station. MetroCards work across the subways and buses and can be shared, so you only need the one card to utilize public transport. Subway lines are labeled with individual letters, allowing you to identify what stops each train will be making on when finding your destination on a subway map. Since the subway and bus systems might be overly-confusing upon first arrival, the city's tried-and-true army of 13,000+ yellow cabs are dependable for quick transport. Though you can certainly stand on a corner and hail a cab, the city's yellow cabs are now connected through Arro, a smartphone app that allows you to easily call and pay for cabs. All taxis accept cash at the end of a ride, but each cab is also equipped with a Passenger Information Monitor (PIM), allowing for credit and debit payments. These devices come in the form of electronic screens installed in the back seat, allowing for easy payments and fare information. If you're looking for a guided experience, tour buses allow you to see all of the best New York landmarks without having to worry about navigation. City Sights and Big Bus New York offer open-top, double-decker buses that allow you to experience the city from inside the bus or enjoy the fresh air on the second level. With a variety of packages and the ability to hop on and off, these tours are ideal for those looking for a general overview of the city. For the ultimate sightseeing experience, NYC IT ALL combines landmarks and transportation into a neat package. With one ticket, you will have access to the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, City Sight's double-decker bus tour, and a Circle Line cruise. For those looking for an all-inclusive package, the New York Pass offers access to over 80 attractions and a Big Bus tour. The pass can be purchased for a single days or in packages of up to ten days, so it's entirely up to you how much you would like to see. Looking To Plan A Day Trip To Long Island? Be Sure To Check Out Our LI Day Trips Guides To Make The Most Out Of Your Excursion! LIRR Schedule Sign up for our Weekend Guide Seasonal Fun, Festivals & Events emailed to your inbox every Friday Sitemap Disclaimer Terms of Use Privacy Policy Copyright © 1996-2019 LongIsland.com & Long Island Media, Inc. All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1345
__label__wiki	0.728489	0.728489	Ep. 6 Embracing the Inevitable with Kevin Kelly July 22, 2016 · RSS · Apple Podcasts Author and Founding Editor of Wired Stephan Ango Co-founder of Lumi Kevin Kelly is the author of Out of Control, What Technology Wants and his newest book, The Inevitable. As the founding executive editor of Wired, Kevin has made a career out of talking about the future. His insights and predictions are grounded in the present and fueled by optimism. In this fast-paced episode, Kevin traces our human fears and inclinations from the days of the Internet back to the days of the Whole Earth Catalog. Stephan talks to Kevin about his new book, his predictions of the future, and how we an embrace them. You can read the full transcript with links below. Stephan: Welcome Kevin Kelly. How are you doing? Kevin: Really great to be here. Thanks for having me on. Stephan: Where you are right now? Kevin: I'm in Pacifica, California which is just the first town on the coast south of San Francisco. We're Big Sur's first beach here and currently it is overcast and foggy, as it usually is in July. The hotter the central valley in California gets, the cooler we are. We live in the air conditioning of California, so it's nice and cool. Probably around 18 degrees centigrade. And where are you? Stephan: I'm in Los Angeles right now where it's quite sunny, but it's not too bad yet. It was in the high 40s Celsius a couple weeks ago, which was very hot — too hot. Kevin: Yes, too hot for me. Stephan: But I have been devouring your new book The Inevitable. I'm a big sci-fi geek, so I love any book that talks about the future in any capacity. And I think one of the things that always bugs me — especially in the world of movies, because it's more noticeable in movies — one thing that is very hard to get right is if this idea is true, what else is true about the world? Kevin: Right. You're right you're exactly right. Stephan: And I think that the format of your book is really smart in that it talks about these 12 forces and you can start to imagine scenarios where AI is a really big thing but also VR or some other thing. And that is a challenge, but in general can you share a little bit about the structure of the book and how you thought about that. Kevin: Yes, so the book The Inevitable is talking about these long term leanings in technology that tend to move it in a certain direction, in the way that if rain fell in a valley, the path of the drop of water as it went into the river at the bottom of the valley would be unpredictable and completely chaotic. But the direction was inevitable, which was down. And so that kind of a gravity is what I'm looking for. This kind of a force pulling it in certain directions at the higher general level while the specifics and particulars are completely unpredictable and actually up to our choosing. And so these general tendencies are baked into the very nature of the technology, and they can be seen when when we're not trying to dictate what happens — when it's unsupervised. And so I was taking these trends which I categorize as verbs, because to emphasize this idea that where we're headed to is mostly about processes and movements rather than fixed nouns or products, and all these verbs are all feeding each other so the flowing and the sharing — you know the more sharing there is, the more flowing there has to be. The more flowing there is, the more sharing. And so these trends are all intermingling and feeding and codependent. I think if I had to rewrite the book again I would emphasize that inter play between the forces even more. But you're right. That is something that I was cognizant of, was that you can easier make a scenario of a world in which all these things are taking place and that does become a much richer world. They're feeding each other. They're co-dependent on each other and I was conscious of that structure in the book. Stephan: One thing that started to make more sense to me as I was reading it is the "Cognifying" one. I like the way that word is structured because I almost think, and I think it be helpful for the listeners, to go into what some of these words mean. You have chapters titled "Becoming," "Flowing," "Screening," "Accessing." But I started to think of them more as becomifying, if that makes sense. Flowifying. Screenifying. Accessifying. Because it's the process of that thing beginning to emerge all over the place in everything that we do. Kevin: That's a really great point. I wish I had thought of that — I would have emphasized it. But "cognifying," which is in the second or third chapter, it is an English word that does exist. I think it's pretty Latin. I use it to mean "to make smarter" because there's no verb in English that means "to make smarter." And we don't say "smartifying," or "smarting," or something, and none of those really work, but I'm using the word "cognifying" to mean "to make smarter." And that's the general task or job that we're doing these days is we're making just about everything smarter by plugging it into an AI will be a commodity, like electricity — something you just get on the cloud. And so the AI is flowing into things — it goes back to this idea of flowing. And I do think you could say the same thing, that there's "filterfying" and there's "accessifying," and that the nouns become verbs. Nouns become processes, and that's sort of what that is also showing — that things that we think of as solid and dependable are actually at the root, a process, a verb, a flow. Something that's mutating. Something that's becoming. So they're all kind of related like that. “If you can access something anywhere any time, then you don't need to own it.” Stephan: Let's get a little more specific, just so people can understand. Actually, the "Accessifying" chapter of your book was one of my favorite ones. Can you describe a little bit about what that trend means? Kevin: The general drift is that most of the things that we have in use in our daily life, while they're hard and physical, we could best think of them as a process that's always being upgraded, and that we kind of are touching at a momentary ephemeral state of something that's changing, and that if you can actually then take that kind of process or service — even if it's a physical thing — and you can distribute it so that it becomes available to anybody instantly anywhere in the world like you can with a digital file, save music. So music which was used to be on vinyl records, is now some bits. And those bits can be sent anywhere to anyone. At anytime, night or day, anywhere you are, you can access that music file because of technology, the way it can flow. And so if you can access something anywhere, anytime, then you don't need to own it. In fact, ownership becomes much of a burden because you have to back it up, upgrade it, catalog it, maintain it, secure all these other things, and it becomes a bit of a burden. Stephan: I talk about this all the time with the idea of self-driving cars because Uber is going in that direction because you don't have to own a car. It becomes more and more accessible to you to just jump in a car that's moving next to you. Back in the 50s let's say, the car was a symbol of freedom for teenagers growing up around that time. But teenagers growing up now, would probably see it as a burden and would see Uber as a sort of freedom, right? Kevin: Exactly right. So if you can summon a car anytime anywhere, and it's there fairly instantly, and then it leaves, it disposes of itself when it's done, that is much superior to owning it. And so just as we've done with Uber, we can do with other physical things, not just the digital things. You can facilitate their arrival and their disappearance, and then you have people maintaining them. So there are some people who own some things, but the general default stance is that you don't own things — you access things. Fifty years ago if you said, "Well you know, accessing maybe you could understand for digital things, but not real things like cars." It just shows you that if you have sufficient and appropriate technology, that will happen. And particularly if you have these auto driven cars, which doesn't matter how long it takes them to find parking spaces and whatnot. What are we going to do once we're inside these cars? Well, we're going to do VR. We're going to be working with screens. This is why some people think that Apple actually might become a car company because inside the car you'll be spending most of your time doing all the things you do with Apple products, and so it would be completely suited and fit to you. You'd step in, it would recognize who you are. It would give you your screen design — whatever it is. You would continue wherever you were last time you were in your car or in your office. And so, that idea of moving away from ownership, which is the foundation of capitalism is a huge disruption. And then trying to imagine all the things that seem improbable right now to access and not own, like clothing. But in fact, there's a huge rental — Stephan: Rent the Runway is a great example. They did that. Kevin: Handbags, all kinds of stuff. Or 3D print them in a local area. So there's all kinds of new technologies coming along that celebrate this general movement away from owning them and making them flow more like bits. As we know, bits are really hard to own. No one really owns bits. The idea of ownership of bits is really problematic. It was at the whole foundation of the disruption by music because if I own something and make a copy of it, do I also own the copy or do you own a copy? So the ownership was really problematic with bits and so if we could make things flow like bits, that also disrupts their ownership. Stephan: It's really weird because technology moves that way in a very slow pace and then suddenly it's there. You give a lot of great examples throughout the book of each of the trends and accessing is one that I think about all the time because we make packaging, so our kind of idea for Lumi is that we want to help make some of the infrastructure that moves the physical things around from one person to another, but I think people will be familiar with Spotify and Uber and Airbnb. And so then you challenge them to think: Look around you. What else could be turned into a service or a subscription? You point out furniture and I was like, "Furniture. That's a weird one." Is there a bed that could come into my apartment and then go away? That was a really interesting one and I think there are so many of those. Kevin: Here's where I would go with that. If you think about camping gear, it gets better every year. So rather than clean and maintain everything, you're always getting the state-of-the-art camping gear. Well, chairs — office chairs in particular — are actually fairly high tech and they could be improving fast enough where you actually wanted to upgrade every two years. Anywhere you see lots of upgrades or upgrades would be important, that's where subscribing is better than owning. So look at what is upgrading really fast. So you know, camping gear, clothing, maybe chairs, office chairs, VR equipment. Kitchen equipment may at some point improve fast enough that there would be high-tech, like a sous vide. Where it's just changing fast enough it's like, why own it? You just subscribe it, and every six months they give you the latest version of it. Nokia was once best known for its rubber galoshes. Stephan: There is a page on Wikipedia that for some reason I go to all the time, and it is a list of the oldest companies in the world. And there are many that have been around for two or three hundred years and most of them, I've found out, make beer and wine. But there are also a lot of them that make all kinds of random things like pickles and bells and all kinds of random things that people need. And I guess my question is, if you're an entrepreneur, how do you deal with the overwhelming nature of how fast things are changing right now and does it matter to try and build something that lasts? Kevin: So I actually like Jeff Bezos's law, and he's repeated this many times, but I think it's really true. Stephan: What's not going to change? Kevin: Yeah, right. He says he builds his business on what's not going to change. Which is like, people want more selection and cheaper prices forever. They'll always want that. So I think that's maybe in one sense what those other companies that are still around are are doing, but there was another [guy] — I can't remember his name — who looked at ... the differences between good companies and the great ones. The great ones were the ones you were identifying as having been around, not just forever, but had a really high recognition of brand awareness and, you know, good vibes. And what they found out was that the difference was that often the businesses at some of these long term companies changed over time, like Nokia which began originally, I think it was a lumber company. Stephan: They made rubber galoshes. Kevin: Yeah. And maybe they transitioned into timber. Stephan: I think so. It's crazy. Nintendo is also like that. Nintendo started in and the late 1800s and used to make playing cards. Kevin: Yeah. Well, Apple actually used to make computers. Anyway, so I think that what endured was the was a core set of values and a core set of abstract principles, and that the business that they were in actually wavered and changed over time. So besides like selling something, [like] alcohol, you could also just have a really great enduring business by maintaining a certain set of values and the business that you're in would it would constantly, in our terms today, would pivot. And so what I'm guessing is, if we went into the future and companies like Google were still around, or Apple, or other ones that we don't know, I would bet that they're still not making the same thing that they made. I've been predicting that Google, by 2025 ... their major revenue would be coming from selling AI. And so they'd no longer be an advertising-based company. They would be an AI company. That to me is a plausible shift, but who knows if it really happens. It's kind of like a person. It's like these days the skills you have are going to cost a change. Your entire occupation will probably disappear. It's very rare that people stay even in the same industry. What they're acquiring is kind of meta skills and values and attitudes, which is what people are hiring them, because the skills are going to be learned on the job. You're constant newbies. You're always having to learn and unlearn stuff. Kevin: So I think companies are going to be the same kind of thing. There's a meta skill level for the company, and the actual industry or products they may navigate into from one industry to another. I find that very, very plausible. Stephan: So what are those principles and meta skills that you really have to build into your company to make it lasting in any capacity? Kevin: Well I mean, there's there's the obvious one of constantly learning, but there is one that is counter intuitive and it has to do with companies that are particularly successful. So it doesn't really apply to startups, but it kind of does. And that is — is that as companies like say an Amazon or even a Google — as they become more successful and as the culture of excellence (you know the Tom Peters kind of excellence where excellence is not in someone's department,) it's just embedded into the very fabric of the company. In my terminology of the way that biologists talk about a landscape and they have fitness excellence as a hill. So you're climbing a hill, and it's also a computer science thing, "hill climbing." So hill climbing means that you're ascending to greater perfection, greater fitness, greater success, as you go up the hill. And you have the entire company, from the secretaries to the VPs to the janitor, do whatever they're doing to do it excellently. And the problem is that when you get to the top, you're at the peak. But whatever it is that you're doing may be dwarfed by a larger peak that's emerging nearby. You're stuck on a local optima, when there's a global optima. In the bigger landscape, there's even a higher peak over there and so the example would be like you're Olivetti-ing. You're perfecting the typewriter and everybody in your entire corporation is working towards that excellence, and you make the most perfect typewriter, and you now have the most perfect typewriters in the world, but then there's word processors coming up which is a huger, bigger, higher mountain and you're on perfecting the optimal of this typewriter. And so the only way you can get to that larger mountain is by going down, and at that point it's impossible because everybody is pushing up. Everybody is working to excellence and there's nobody who's going to say, "Let's become less efficient, less excellent. Let's head towards chaos. Let's go down where there's less profit. Let's go where there's more no higher risk. Smaller margins. Smaller market." I mean it's contrary to every single business impulse there is, and the more excellent a company, is the more difficult that becomes. And so in a certain sense you're asking for the approaches or the attitudes, or principles — one of them is going to be maintaining some ability to go in the wrong direction. Like, we're going to do something that's stupid in sort of a business sense. We're going to do something that is contrary to everything that an accountant would do. We're going to do something that's high risk, low margins, high uncertainty, unproven, dangerous, life threatening, you know whatever it is. And it takes a kind of a crazy person, you know like a Steve Jobs or others to force that, because everything, and all the natural instincts everyone has, is to go in the other direction. “It's actually easier to start something new than it is to change.” Stephan: Yeah. You know as you're describing this I was wondering, what would we say to the executives at Olivetti if we could go back in time? And I'm not sure what the right answer is because when you think about companies like Microsoft for example. They saw things coming. To some extent they knew tablets would be a big thing and they made a tablet ten years too early. They saw that mobile was coming and they made a smartphone ten years too early, and then they kind of fizzled out. They weren't at the right place at the right time, so to speak. It's very hard, right? Kevin: It's extremely hard. In fact, it is so hard, that it's actually easier to start something new than it is to change. This is why startups will forever, in general as a class, will forever have an advantage over the incumbents because it is so, so difficult to move the incumbent. Which is one the reason why I don't worry too much about the natural monopolies of the Microsofts and Amazons and Googles, because they're only there for a limited time. Now the thing about the startups of course ... individually, the likelihood of any one startup succeeding is like zero, one percent or whatever it is. Most startups will fail, so the startups are plagued by the challenge that statistically, whatever they're doing is also going to fail. And that's a problem that the big companies have — is that try something and fail. It's like a startup. So you know only, say five percent of them work, so they would have to do this a hundred times to get it to work. Startups do it because they're desperate. They have no choice. Big companies want to buy their way out, so they'll try to spend money on it to purchase their way out. That's like predator or prey — the natural balancing of the world. Why the whole world's not just big companies is because they're going to get stuck in their success, and the startups have the advantage that they have nothing to lose. But they have the disadvantage that they're probabilistically going to fail. So the whole thing as an ecosystem works great. Stephan: I don't know if that's reassuring if I'm a person who is just making jams and selling them at my local farmer's market or something. What happens when you know all of your trends occur and I'm just trying to sell my jams or making something that is a craft of some sort? Kevin: Well, so there's several things to say. One is, the way VCs today use the word "startup," it's a very particular and peculiar definition which is something that was going to scale, that has growth embedded in it. When most startups in the country, in the world, are mom-and-pop enterprises that aren't going to scale into a fortune, but they can make a living. So the VCs denigrate that as a lifestyle business. So I think there's a huge future and there's a huge opportunity. A lot of these lifestyle businesses, they're very profitable. They're just not going to scale and to take over the world. If you're satisfied with making a living versus making a fortune, there's a lot of room in there. But I think the idea of just making jams is not going to be enough for anybody. I mean jams are a commodity, so you have to do something special. You're going to have to keep pivoting. Stephan: But beer is a commodity, and there are companies that have been making the same beer for a thousand years. Kevin: And there's a lot of beer companies have gone out of business too. Stephan: That's true. That's very true. Kevin: Just making beer alone is not enough is what I'm saying. They either had some marketing smarts — there's other things going on. When you're making a commodity, you're taking the commodity and you're adding X. It's like selling water. How do you sell water, which is free. Well, you tell a story or you have a brand. You're adding something as an interface to something that's a commodity. There's all these other ways, and so if you can make jams, you have to do something in addition to that. You have to tell a story, you know, whatever it is that makes extra. Beer is the same thing. Pabst, whatever it was, was a beer that was dying and then they did some marketing of the right type to appeal to hipsters and it took off, and so the point is that you don't have to aim for the millions to succeed, and this is my Thousand True Fans theory, which was actually not in the book. And that is that if you are connecting directly with your fans, you're not going through distributors, publishers, broadcasters, or whatever, you're just having direct connection. You can reduce the magnitude of your audience by many factors and depending on how many there are of you ... it's a thousand times each person. In that order of magnitude, you can actually make a living. If you have these true fans and a concentric circle of avid fans, not just true fans, but the idea being that if you have direct contact to use this technology, you can work with a much smaller audience. The niche audience works when it's facilitated by technology which reduces the degree of the challenge that you have to go. You don't need to have a million customers. You don't need to have a hundred thousand. You can have in the tens of thousands. That's going to be adequate to make a living. And if you think about it in those terms, well then I can do something with making jams. I can do kind of something where I am a producer at a small scale. A thousand, five thousand, ten thousand, that's within the range of a family, lifestyle business. Stephan: And I think what's cool about the present and the future is that now those thousand people can come from literally anywhere in the world. It doesn't have to be your local village that you live in. I say that it's the best time to start something weird, because you can find a thousand people who like that weird thing that you're into. Kevin: Right. You're exactly right. The niche is now drawing from a pool of seven billion people instead of just your local neighborhood. So they're all just one click away too. That's the other thing, even the item on the longest tail is actually just one click away from the best seller. And so it's very viable to have that kind of thing. But, there's several caveats about that theory. There's two. One is that this does not appeal to everybody. Dealing with your clients, your customers, your fans, becomes a lot of what you do. And there are many artists and creators who don't want to deal with that. They just want to paint or photograph or dance whatever it is. They don't want to have to deal with their fans, and that's fine. Then they'll have to have an intermediates. And then the second thing is you just have to kind of keep multiplying that for the number of people who are actually on your team. So if you have ten people, then it's going to be ten times as many. But outside of that, I think it's a very, very viable option for many people. Stephan: Switching gears a little bit, you've been talking about the future for a long time. Why do you do it? People like E.M. Forster wrote this amazing book in like 1906 called The Machine Stops, and it's just incredible, but nobody remembers it. You remember it and a few other people probably talk about it, but does it matter if you're right? Is that why you're doing it? Kevin: Well first of all, as you might notice, and I'm the first to talk about this, the things I'm talking about in this book are all present already. Marshall McLuhan had this great quote. He said he's always careful to never predict anything unless it was already happening. I'm very likely to be wrong about lots of the stuff, because I just don't know what I'm going to be wrong about. But my aim is actually to get people to behave more optimistically to embrace this stuff. When we embrace it rather than try and stop it, prohibit it, turn it back, turn it off, outlaw it, we'll overall reap more benefits from it and will minimize the harm. What I'm trying to prevent is the natural reaction to be scared of it, to be fearful, to want to turn it off, turn it back, turn it down. You know, the efforts that I see of people trying to outlaw Uber in Austin, it's just like, that's just so counterproductive to set you back. The same thing about the music industry's thirty-year war on copying. You can't stop the copying. It just, it wants to copy. You have to work with the copying. I don't mean like getting rid of copyright. I mean making copyright work with the copying. Don't keep extending it like 70 years into the future. All that kind of stuff is ridiculous. You have to work with it. Same thing with tracking — tracking is coming, tracking is inevitable. What kind of road we have with tracking is not inevitable. Let's try and work with the tracking and surveillance that comes. Same with AI. Kevin: We had one fatality and there are going to be many more, but it's nowhere near the million people that humans kill every year. So we're not going to outlaw human drivers. We need to prepare ourselves and rehearse for this, so that's why I'm talking about it coming in and it being inevitable. It's not whether I'm right, it's getting people to prepare for this rather than try and freak out and try and stop it. Stephan: Yeah I think the thing that's hard is that the word "inevitable" sounds kind of ominous, but what I love about what you're saying right now is, what if we could actually be positive an optimistic and enthusiastic about it? Because, you know once the genie is out of the bottle, eventually it works itself out and people get used to things. There's a transitional period that can be difficult and frustrating and a lot of stuff gets displaced, but what if you looked at it optimistically? What would that look like? Seems like it's a better life. Kevin: People behave much better when they're optimistic. They think longer term — that's the main thing is if you believe that there's a future, if we believe that we're going to be here for a thousand years, or five hundred years, a hundred years, then you behave differently. And we will be if you accept the fact that AI is inevitable. It's going to be everywhere. We're going to work with AIs. They're going to replace a lot of the tasks that we do. And you're not going to say, "Well they're going to take over and kill us." No, they're not. They're going to make more new jobs. They're going to make us richer or they're going to they're going to help the poor people everywhere in the world ... I mean if we can do that, then we can avoid all kinds of crazy and stupid stuff that people will want to throw up in the process of it. Having said that, there's going to be conflict and there's going to be people who lose their jobs, like half the truck drivers in the country which is the most common occupation in America. Rather than like, "Okay, we're going to outlaw that," which some people are going to be calling for that, we should think about other ways in which we can deal with this fact and transition, train, retrain, educate, rather than say, "Okay, we won't let AIs drive trucks," which I know some people will start to say. And I think we would make better ancestors, as Jonathan Salk talks about, if we actually embrace these things now. Stephan: I have one last topic that dovetails perfectly into this. Sitting next to me I have this book that's become very meaningful to me which is the last Whole Earth Catalog. And I know that you worked on that. It was published before I was born, but somehow I've been really getting back into kind of the ideas that were happening around that time. My edition is from 1971, but I know that you worked editing one in the 80s is that correct. Kevin: That's correct. Stephan: What was your role in that? Kevin: The Whole Earth Catalog was an oversized... they call it "tabloid," so it's like the size of a newspaper. And it was printed on newsprint, and it was bound together into a book and it was mailed out. Well, initially it was mailed out a couple times a year, then eventually every couple of years, and it became a really fat book. And in that book, even though it was called, a catalog it was a catalog only in a kind of a conceptual sense that it was descriptions of different tools, and books, and a lot of book reviews that described things that would help individuals or small groups do stuff. Most of the reviews were written by readers and it didn't really have any advertising and so one way to think of it was a user generated web that was printed on newsprint. So it was users who were enthusiastic about sharing something that they would send into us editors and we would give it kind of a binary decision of yes or no and then print it with their own voice without very much change at all. Well actually, we typeset it and printed and took pictures, and it was printed rapidly on really cheap newsprint and sent out. So it was like the closest thing you could do to having the web without having the web. If you read it now, you'll recognize it because they were blog posts. There were basically people blogging on newsprint and my role was at first as a contributor and I was contributing about travel because that's what I was doing. And eventually I was hired to edit the publication, the magazine, and then I did some of the catalogs after Stewart Brand who was the founder left to write some books. And this oversized catalog had tools in the broadest sense of the word — things that were helpful that you could use. And it's hard for young people today to kind of understand the significance of it. It became a million plus bestseller. Even though bookstores hated it because it was hard to shelve, a lot of it was sold by mail and it kind of actually launched a lot of the small publishing that still exists today because Stewart, in the catalog, told how he made the book, disclosed all the finances of the book, and the process in which he made this book and it's kind of do-it-yourself way, a really low rent way of buying and renting some really cheap, ingenious equipment. So anybody could actually desktop publish way before computers and it launched kind of the small publishing business in part because it also reviewed books that were printed by small press. But I was saying that in the era when it came out and the early 70s, it was the only place you could find this kind of information which was mostly kind of utilitarian or prone to how-to information. If you went into a typical bookstore in 1970, there was almost nothing in the bookstore. It was some bestsellers, there was the occasional random little thing, and there was actually no place to go. There was no internet. There was no place to go to find stuff about how to do anything. Kevin: And the Whole Earth Catalog was the first place to take together all this obscure knowledge of someone who knew how to make lumber from trees with a chainsaw, or to build your own house, or to grow your own food, or to start bees, or to do home schooling, or anything. It kind of searched the world, or mostly the English speaking world, for anything that had this kind valuable information, and it brought it all together into one place. And it brought it together in kind of a very interesting design on the page. But the idea was, here was this uber index, this Yahoo, this Google search, for how-to information, which was impossible to find any other way. And that was this amazing, marvelous miracle at the time. And if you go back to it now, it doesn't have the same impact because you can just use your phone and search for something and you'll get a YouTube clip that will tell you how to do something. That was like a million miles away when the Whole Earth Catalog came out. Before that there was no other way to find this information. Stephan: Yeah, but at the same time, if I was going to build a cabin in the woods today and I didn't have the internet, I would still want this. A lot of the information is still very relevant. Maybe some of the recommendations are a little bit out of date, but it's amazing how you as you flip through it from "How do I do Beekeeping" to some really trippy article or review about Buckminster Fuller's newest book or something like that. It's opinionated in a way that I think feels relevant to me today. Kevin: Right. You'll recognize the voice because it's the blogger's voice. This opinionated, informed enthusiast. Again, that was also completely unknown and completely refreshing in 1970 because believe me, the New York publications did not talk with that tone at all. It was completely absent, and people who came across it like myself were like "Oh my gosh. This is like real people talking in real language about real things that I had no idea, and I really want to know about. And I saw the first one in Woodstock in 1970 right at the end of high school and it was like boing boing boing "This is mine. This is for me. I am this," and it changed my life. I enjoy nothing more myself than spending a late night looking through the old Whole Earth catalogs and reading them because it does something to me — Stephan: Here’s what it is, and I was going to ask you this question. It's a weird question and this is what I think about when I read the Whole Earth Catalog: What does it mean to be human? That is the question that I ask myself when I read it. Because my definition of like a great human being is my grandfather, who I just actually went to visit last weekend. He lives in Santa Barbara. He's 85 and he was an NASA engineer, but also did things like grow his own vegetable garden. You know, went lobster fishing and did these things to feed his family on a very primal level. And I love that idea that human beings can be at once very curious about the biggest things in the universe and also have to deal with the practical nature of staying alive and eating and breathing and drinking water and that kind of stuff. And I think the Whole Earth Catalog asks both of those questions, or challenges their reader to explore both of those things. Kevin: Wow, yeah. I haven't felt that, but I see where you could get that. And so for your listeners, by the way, I think there are probably used copies on Ebay somewhere. I think the Cool Tools gives you the more practical aspect and I think I didn't try to capture the bigger stories that I think Stuart was doing with the Whole Earth Catalog. If you have a chance, readers, you should seek out ... like the last Whole Earth Catalog I think was actually the the biggest of them all. That was in 1982, maybe? Take a look at it. I always saw it as a catalog of possibilities, of what a human could be. It was like, "Oh my gosh. I had no idea I could do this. If I could do that, I could do even this." There is no limit to the possibilities of what I or humans could do. Stephan: Tools to me are the most interesting thing to create and to design. I love making tools and creating tools for other people and Cool Tools and Whole Earth are tools for finding tools. And to me, the extension of a tool is a utility. The pipes, the infrastructure, the things that you don't necessarily even think of as a tool. Like you were talking about AI for example as being a utility for the future. Like a faucet, you know, there's just like a smartness pouring out of it. So I have a fascination with tools because I think that's what humans are. We like to make tools that extend our body and allow us to go places and do things that we aren't naturally capable of. “We're just now at the beginning of the beginning. The first hour.” Kevin: Yeah, I agree that that is the higher art — is that we're the tool makers and making tools that facilitate. They call them the "enabling tools" like the Internet, which is a tool that enables all these other things. And I think you're right, that I do see AI and some of these others as enabling tools in the future. And then I think mastering those will be the meta skill that will facilitate the making of many other things. You know, people have said for a long time that the biggest, most important mention of Silicon Valley was making the startup system and I have long said that the only invention that China did not invent before the west was the scientific method. It was only when they missed, and that was yet the most important one, because once you know the scientific method you can accelerate the invention of all these other things that were just done by trial and error. So there are these meta tools that we're involved and I think we haven't discovered all of them yet. We're just now at the beginning of the beginning. The first hour. And there are no AI experts. There's no VR experts. There's no experts in cognification or tracking or even the Internet. I think in 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, you'll look back and you'll say, "You didn't even have the Internet back in 2016. You thought you did, but you didn't really have it." And I think all this stuff that we're doing right now is still at the beginning. All the experts are ahead. None of us are late. You can start and you can become the expert right now if you wanted to. And there will be a lot of new tool sets invented in the future. That's my hope is that everybody alive is presented with some opportunity, some tool, some instrument that will help express their genius and share with others. And that's what I'm working to, is to increase the choices and possibilities in the world for the present generation and future generations, just as I've benefited from the past. And my book, The Inevitable helps people prepare for this coming abundance and that we can again maximize the benefits and minimize the harm. Stephan: Well, thank you very much and everybody can go get the book on all the places where you get books. They should also check out kk.org, your website, Cool Tools, where else? Twitter? Kevin: @Kevin2Kelly, and Amazon has the Cool Tools book, which there are some copies left and it's a great gift for a young person. Open up their mind to what's possible. You can find this and all future episodes on iTunes, Google Play, and here on the Lumi blog. This episode was edited by Evan Goodchild. We talk to Sandwich Video's Adam Lisagor about how he became the face and voice of some of the most innovative tech brands. Adam Lisagor and Stephan Ango · Jun 8, 2017 Practicing the Narrative With 20 years of tech industry experience at Amazon, Etsy, NPR and SmartThings, business leader Maria Thomas shares the importance of a brand narrative and the value of preparation. Maria Thomas and Stephan Ango · Apr 10, 2018 Vertical Commerce and How the Next Generation of Retail Will be Built Digitally Native Vertical Brands (DNVBs) is a new term picking up steam to describe a kind of company we’ve all become familiar with. Stephan Ango · Aug 22, 2016 Letting Community Lead the Way We sit down with Poshmark founder and CEO, Manish Chandra to talk about the logistics of the resale marketplace, and building social ecommerce experiences. Manish Chandra and Stephan Ango · Jul 17, 2019 Asking the Bajillion Dollar Question The Wall Street Journal logistics and supply chain reporter, Erica E. Phillips weighs in on the tightening labor supply, tariffs, and the trade war. Erica E. Phillips and Stephan Ango · Oct 17, 2018 Converting Influence We loop back with ecommerce expert, Web Smith to talk about how brands will adapt to new regulations and competition, and get an update on his newsletter, 2PM. Web Smith and Stephan Ango · Jun 13, 2018	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1346
__label__cc	0.675871	0.324129	The Secrets to Keeping Your Secret Sauce Secret By: Michael G. Trachtman \| 06.16.16 \| HR Compliance Michael G. Trachtman Powell Trachtman Logan Carrle & Lombardo, P.C. MEA General Counsel mtrachtman@poweltrachtman.com You fire your sales manager, and then find out that she downloaded to her personal computer a copy of your confidential customer and sales history database. You hire a computer consultant who, you later discover, copied your proprietary software, and you suspect the consultant might be using it as part of his consulting practice. You discover that a competitor is using CAD files that had to have come from your company. What can you do? The answer is: a lot, so long as you do it in the right way. In May 2016, Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). The statute can provide you with substantial protection against the theft or unauthorized use of your trade secrets by, for instance, employees, independent contractors, consultants and competitors. Here’s what you need to know. What’s a “trade secret”? The definition of a “trade secret” is fairly loose: it is information that provides economic value to a business, and that the business attempts through reasonable means to keep confidential. So, just by way of example, if you have a valuable manufacturing method, a unique formula, a proprietary customer database, and so on, and if you use reasonable efforts so that only those with the need to know have access to that information, it would likely qualify as a “trade secret.” What’s the impact of DTSA? Most states already have trade secret laws that, upon the theft of a trade secret, provide for injunctions, damages, punitive damages and, sometimes, attorneys’ fees. However, when trade secrets are taken, they often migrate beyond the borders of individual states, and it can be difficult and cumbersome to chase the wrongdoer, or those who acquired the trade secrets from the wrongdoer, through the myriad of states, and even countries, where the trade secret may have been used or disclosed. DTSA helps to solve that problem. It amplifies trade secrets remedies (including double-damages and attorneys’ fee provisions) and, very important, it allows access to federal (and not just state) courts, which can provide protection on a national and, often, international level. Additionally, federal courts often move more quickly than state courts, and in many instances they have more familiarity with trade secrets issues. Under DTSA, companies will also be able to prevent the importation of products made with misappropriated trade secrets, even if the misappropriation occurred outside the US. Businesses which rely upon patents will have a broader range of options to protect their intellectual property. In addition, in cases where an employee who is subject to a noncompete leaves for a competitor and also takes trade secrets, DTSA may allow employers to pursue not only the trade secrets issue, but also the enforcement of the covenant not to compete in federal courts. And, in a provision that may have very substantial significance, in “extraordinary circumstances,” DTSA allows for immediate (that is, before there is even a hearing) seizure of stolen trade secrets as may be necessary to prevent their dissemination. But – an important caution. DTSA includes specific protections for whistleblowers, paralleling similar protections mandated by the SEC, EEOC, NLRB and FINRA. In order to be entitled to double-damages and attorneys’ fees under DTSA, companies must include a prescribed whistleblower protection notice in, for example, employment, independent contractor, severance, release, non-compete, and confidentiality agreements, and also in employee handbooks. As the law evolves toward the generalized protection of whistleblowers, the inclusion of this kind of notice is a good idea, even apart from DTSA. The take-away. Here’s where we suggest you go from here: Identify your trade secrets. Many companies assume that in order to qualify as a trade secret, information must rise to the level of the formula for Coca Cola or the KFC Colonel’s secret blend of herbs and spices. Not so – so long as it adds value to your business, a database, a process, software code, a manufacturing technique, a formula, and much more, can qualify for trade secret protection. Treat them as trade secrets. If you do not treat the information as a trade secret, neither will the law. You will need to go beyond merely directing employees not to use or disclose the information – rather, you will need to take the steps necessary to keep the trade secret from being used or accessed by those who do not need to do so. Lock the file cabinet. Put the information on a separate hard drive, or a separate partition of a hard drive, and password protect it. Do a document review. Have your employment, consultant, confidentiality and similar agreements, related forms, and policies and procedures reviewed for DTSA compliance purposes. Let us know if we can help. Michael G. Trachtman is MEA’s general counsel and the President of Powell Trachtman Logan Carrle & Lombardo P.C., a 30+ attorney King of Prussia-based law firm that has represented businesses and business people for over twenty-five years. He can be contacted at mtrachtman@powelltrachtman.com. See www.powelltrachtman.com for more information.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1350
__label__cc	0.568592	0.431408	Mental Capacity Law and Policy Resources and blogs Liberty Protection Safeguards resources Cheshire West resources Service user advisory group members sought for Mental Health and Justice project Posted on December 7, 2016 Author Alex RK We are looking as part of the major Wellcome Trust-funded Mental Health and Justice project to recruit eight people with personal experience of mental health problems to join a London based Service User Advisory Group (SUAG) for a new study entitled ‘Mental Health and Justice’. The study is about understanding what legal and other support people with mental health problems need to lead full and independent lives. If you would like more information please view the full advert here. Download the Application form here. By way of an overview of the project, the research will address the central dilemma in mental health, ethics and law: the tension between protecting a person and respecting their decision making. As law in this area commits to human rights and as the international dimension presses, sharp new challenges are arising. The project focuses on two fundamental concepts – support in decision-making and decision-making ability. The study is made up of a number of different ‘work streams’, focusing on: exploring and facilitating decision-making support, both nationally and internationally; advance directives; insight; metacognition; contested capacity assessment. Overall, the collaboration involves leading clinical experts, lawyers, philosophers, neuroscientists and social scientists in a research network that will be delivering practical guidelines, enhancing policy engagement, advancing interdisciplinary working and developing innovation in service-user involvement in research and public engagement. The deadline for applying is 6 January 2017. Posted in Research of interestTagged CRPD, Mental health, Wellcome TrustLeave a Comment on Service user advisory group members sought for Mental Health and Justice project Objections, DOLS and the Court of Protection When to bring an s21A application – flowchart Capacity and sexual relations – trying to make it personal In LB Tower Hamlets v NB & AU [2019] EWCOP 27, Hayden J has made further observations about the test …Read More » Termination and best interests: the Court of Appeal’s reasons The Court of Appeal has now given its reasons ([2019] EWCA Civ 1215) for its decision in Re AB to …Read More » CTOs and community deprivation of liberty – some welcome clarity Since the decisions of the Supreme Court in MM and PJ, lurking issues have remained about the position of individuals lacking capacity …Read More » Contingency planning and the Court of Protection In United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust v CD [2019] EWCOP 24, Francis J has grappled with a subject that has …Read More » Birth arrangements, interventions and the art (not science) of capacity In NHS Trust v P [2019] EWCOP 23, Williams J was asked to endorse the covert carrying out (under general …Read More » Bailii capacity cases London Borough of Tower Hamlets v NB (consent to sex) [2019] EWCOP 27 (16 July 2019) July 17, 2019 ASK, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 1239 (16 July 2019) July 16, 2019 B v D [2016] EWCOP 67 (1 September 2016) July 11, 2019 AB (Termination of Pregnancy), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1215 (11 July 2019) July 11, 2019 PA069322018 [2019] UKAITUR PA069322018 (7 May 2019) July 10, 2019 Bailii CRPD cases AB (Termination of Pregnancy), Re [2019] EWCA Civ 1215 (11 July 2019)0 From England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions Lawson, Mottram and Hopton, Re (appointment of personal welfare deputies) (Rev 1) [2019] EWCOP 22 (25 June 2019)0 From England and Wales Court of Protection Decisions ZK, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Redbridge [2019] EWHC 1450 (Admin) (10 June 2019)0 From England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions X v The Official Solicitor [2019] NIFam 9 (17 May 2019)0 From High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland Family Division Decisions Anderson v Turning Point Eespro [2019] EWCA Civ 815 (15 May 2019)0 SC & Ors, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Work And Pensions & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 615 (16 April 2019)0 Child and Family Agency & ors v The Adoption Authority of Ireland & anor [2019] IEHC 312 (12 April 2019)0 From High Court of Ireland Decisions THE MENTAL HEALTH TRIBUNAL, APPEAL IN THE CAUSE MH AGAINST THE MENTAL HEALTH TRIBUNAL FOR SCOTLAND [2019] ScotCS CSIH_14 (15 March 2019)0 From Scottish Court of Session Decisions PBM v TGT & Anor [2019] EWCOP 6 (08 March 2019)0 CB v Medway Council & Anor (Appeal) [2019] EWCOP 5 (06 March 2019)0 MHLO updates New policy for contacting nearest relative — On 14/6/19 the tribunal secretariat wrote to tribunal users as follows: "Following the feedback from some of our users. From Monday the 17 June the Tribunal will use the information provided on the Statement of Information about a patient objecting to their nearest relative being contacted in precedence to that provided on the application […] Case (Reinstatement). JS v SLAM NHS Foundation Trust [2019] UKUT 172 (AAC) — (1) Reinstatement: "As there is no right to reinstatement, the tribunal has a discretion whether or not to reinstate the party’s ‘case’. It must, like all discretions, be exercised judicially and that involves complying with the overriding objective of the tribunal’s rules of procedure, which is ‘to enable the Tribunal to deal with cases […] Case (Immigration detention). R (ASK) v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 1239 — "These appeals raise important issues concerning the powers of the Respondent Secretary of State to detain those who suffer from mental health conditions pending removal from the United Kingdom. In each case, the Appellant is a foreign national who satisfied the statutory criteria for detention pending removal, but who suffered from mental illness such […] Guidance on spent convictions etc. Ministry of Justice, 'Updated guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974' (4/3/14) — Is a restricted hospital order spent when the patient is conditionally discharged or when he is absolutely discharged? The Ministry of Justice does not have an official position on the matter, but refers to this guidance document which states that under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 the rehabilitation period of a hospital order, […] Job advert. Noble Solicitors, Luton - mental health panel member. © 2019 Mental Capacity Law and Policy	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1353
__label__cc	0.675318	0.324682	Menzies School of Health Research is Australia's only medical research institute whose major focus is improving Indigenous health and wellbeing. Our work investigates how we can improve the health of Indigenous children so they can have the best start in life. The harm caused by tobacco, alcohol and other drugs is a major public health problem for Indigenous Australians. Diet is the leading contributor to the burden of disease for all Australians. Dietary improvement is essential to closing the gap in health, education and life expectancy for Indigenous Australians. Diabetes and kidney disease are major contributors to Indigenous Australians shorter life expectancy. Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Indigenous people. Helping communities and individuals to stay strong. There is little known about Indigenous adolescent lives. Yet, it’s such an extraordinary stage because there’s incredibly rapid development. Childhood skin infections can have a long-lasting and devastating effect. An important component of Closing the Gap. A significant proportion of Menzies' work is in disease treatment research, but we also recognise that preventive health measures have an important role to play in improving overall health outcomes. Support us to make a difference All donations are directed towards our core work on behalf of disadvantaged communities in Australia and the Asia-Pacific.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0043.json.gz/line1354

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.